Three Very Cold Nights Ahead

An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

TOO COLD: The average high/low for Birmingham for December 6 is 58/37, so we are looking at temperatures over the next few days a good 15 degrees below average for early December.

THIS AFTERNOON: How about these 2:00 observations from our SKYCAM network…

Gadsden 34
Cullman 34
Birmingham 38
Hamilton 38
Fayette 39
Jasper 40
Clanton 40

Generally speaking, these numbers are well below the MOS guidance from models, and we will stay cold through Thursday morning.

TONIGHT: We should be below freezing for a good 8 hours… some of the colder spots will be below freezing for 12 hours. Most places will see a low in the low 20s tomorrow morning, but some of the colder spots will hit the teens.

TOMORROW/WEDNESDAY: We will rise into the mid 40s tomorrow, but a disturbance rotating through the base of the long wave upper trough over the eastern U.S. will pull down even colder air on Wednesday, when many places won’t get out of the 30s with a stiff north breeze. The GFS is printing a low of 21 for both Wednesday and Thursday morning, and as we all know, there will be colder pockets with lows in the upper teens. The coldest morning could very well be early Thursday when the wind should be close to calm.

The upper impulse could bring a few clouds to the state tomorrow night into Wednesday morning, but the air sure seems too dry for any significant precipitation. I guess somebody might see a snow flurry or two, but it won’t be a big deal.

Take all of the needed precautions to take care of dogs, cats, plants, pipes, and husbands for the next three nights.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: We will show a slow warming trend on these days… the high Thursday will be in the upper 40s, followed by mid 50s on Friday.

WEEKEND PEEK: A strong short wave will spin up a surface low north of Alabama Saturday. Warm air advection ahead of this feature will bring showery weather to the state Saturday. I don’t think the rain will be especially heavy; amounts will probably be in the one-quarter inch range. Then, another shot of very cold air begins moving into the state Saturday night as the moisture departs. The 12Z GFS continues to hint at some chance of the rain briefly changing to snow Saturday night, but we won’t mention this for now as it is a low confidence solution. Sunday looks cold with a high around 40, a stiff north wind, and some risk of snow flurries mainly over the northern third of the state.

NEXT WEEK: Monday and Tuesday of next week look very cold, with highs in the 30s and low possibly in the upper teens for many places. Cold, but dry. A moderation begins at mid-week.

VOODOO LAND: See the Weather Xtreme video for details… but yet another cold air shot arrives a few days before Christmas, and the NAO stays negative for the next two weeks. Sure looks like any warm-up will be short lived in this pattern.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 30 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. Gonna be a great show tonight with Sean Potter, who works in the communications office of the National Weather Service and is a contributing editor for WeatherWise magazine. He and our Guest Panelist, Jay Trobec, from KELO-TV in Sioux Falls, SD comprise 20% of a select group of meteorologists in the world. Find out more when tonight’s show hits the web. You can also watch/listen live as we record the show via uStream.

FOLLOW ALONG: Here are our weather team Twitter accounts….

I had a great time today visiting with a big home school group at Journey Church in Eva… be looking for them on the Pepsi KIDCAM today at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 News. The next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 7:00 a.m tomorrow…

Category: Uncategorized