Scattered Light Rain

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TODAY AND TOMORROW: A few periods of light rain are likely across our state through tomorrow. Today, a short wave is passing through with a surface low just west of Tampa Bay. Moisture levels are not overly impressive, but some rain will fall at times. Early this morning the most widespread rain is over Northwest Alabama… places like Vernon, Guin, Haleyville, and Carbon Hill are getting wet. This rain will slowly spread south and east during the day.

Another short wave impacts Alabama tomorrow with a chance of showers. Rain totals won’t be overly impressive; both the GFS and the NAM are showing 0.17″ for Birmingham. The high today and tomorrow will be in the low to mid 50s, about where we should be for mid-January in Alabama.

WEDNESDAY: The sun returns briefly Wednesday. The air will be a little cooler with a high in the upper 40s.

THURSDAY: Clouds return quickly Thursday, with a gusty south wind will push temperatures toward the 60 degree mark, something we can all appreciate after last week’s ice, snow, and cold. Rain moves into the state late in the day and Thursday night, with potential for 1/2 inch.

WINTER WEATHER ISSUES EARLY FRIDAY: The cross-Polar air we have been watching for a few weeks will move into Alabama Friday morning. This means we have a chance of rain changing to freezing rain or snow for little while before it all ends. Seems like we have about a 5 hour window for some wintry precipitation early Friday morning, generally in the 3:00 to 8:00 a.m. time frame. See the Weather Xtreme video for details… but clearly it is too early to be really specific. Keep in mind the ground will be pretty warm with that 60 degree high Thursday, so we sure don’t expect much snow accumulation, but with 1/2 inch of rain expected Thursday night, and rapidly falling temperatures, we could very well have icy bridges Friday morning. Keep that in mind, and we will be fine tuning the forecast as we get closer.
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Friday will be very cold with temperatures hovering around freezing all day with a gusty north wind. Then, Saturday morning, we will be in the teens to start the weekend with a clear sky.

OUR WEEKEND: Cold air stays in place Saturday with a high in the mid to upper 30s. Another hard freeze is likely early Sunday, with lows around 20, then a warming trend begins Sunday afternoon as we climb into the mid 40s. The weekend will be dry with a good supply of sunshine both days.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: Very low confidence in any specific solution beyond 15 days, as there is very little model agreement, and little agreement in operational global model output and teleconnections. The positive AO and NAO suggest relatively mild weather here for late January and early February, but see the Weather Xtreme video for the GFS look.

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. We will record this week’s show tonight at 8:30 p.m. CST… back to our regular time. Dr. Curtis Carey – Director NWS Office of Communications/Executive Affairs, will be our guest.

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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 this afternoon… enjoy the day!

Tags: rain

Category: Alabama's Weather