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A Few Showers Tonight

| February 21, 2011 @ 6:12 am | Reply

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.

WE COULD USE SOME RAIN: Birmingham’s rain deficiency for the year is up to 2.95″… for Tuscaloosa the deficit is almost five inches (4.78). So… a little wet weather would not be a bad thing.

TODAY/TONIGHT: Don’t expect beneficial rain in the short term. A weak cold front will pass through the state tonight, and could bring a few scattered showers, but rain will be light and spotty and many places won’t get enough rain to wet the pavement. Today will be mild again, with a high at or just over 70 in most spots… not as warm as the weekend due to clouds that should be in place much of the day.

MID-WEEK: Cooler air slips into the state tomorrow as the sky becomes mostly sunny. The high will drop into the low 60s, which is where we should be this time of the year. Wednesday morning will be rather chilly, with a low in the 30s. Some of the colder spots might make a run at freezing for a brief time early Wednesday, but most places will see a low in the mid to upper 30s. We climb into the mid 60s Wednesday, and we will be back in the low 70s by Thursday.

THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY: SPC has defined a rather large severe weather risk for Thursday afternoon and Thursday night in the broad area from Dallas/Fort to Louisville… the northwest corner of Alabama is clipped by this risk. No doubt there could be some strong storms in this zone, but the cold front will lose upper support as it moves into Alabama after midnight Thursday night and into Friday, and severe weather is not expected here. And, unfortunately, once again it looks like rain will be relatively light with the Friday front with just a few passing showers, and maybe a thunderstorm in spots.

WEEKEND PREVIEW: Slightly cooler air slips in here Saturday, with a high in the upper 50s and low 60s. The sky becomes mostly sunny Saturday, and Sunday will be dry as well. Early morning lows this weekend will be in the upper 30s and low 40s, but by Sunday afternoon we will be well into the 60s.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: We finally have a decent chance at a good rain event Monday night and Tuesday, and if the GFS verifies, we just might have our first significant severe weather event of the year as well. Of course, there is no way to resolve details this far in advance, but we will be keeping a close eye on this system… see the Weather Xtreme video for details on long range ideas. Looks like March will be pretty active, which is what we expect as the spring tornado season begins.

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. The upcoming guest list on WeatherBrains includes some top notch talent. How about Carolynglenn Brewer, author of “Caught in the Path, A Tornado’s Fury, A Community’s Rebirth” about the May 20. 1957 Ruskin Heights tornado in Kansas City. Or Jeff Rosenfeld, the editor of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society and the awesome book “Eye of the Storm: Inside the World’s Deadliest Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Blizzards.” We will record this week’s show tonight at 8:30 p.m. CST…

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

James Spann Jason Simpson Ashley Brand
J. B. Elliott Bill Murray Brian Peters
Dr. Tim Coleman WeatherBrains Podcast E-Warn (AL wx watches/warnings)

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

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Category: Alabama's Weather

About the Author ()

James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.

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