A Few Showers Tonight

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THIS AFTERNOON: Birmingham is at 78 degrees at 2:00… will be interesting to see if we can rise to 80 within the next hour to make it six consecutive days with a high of 80 or higher. The wind is an issue… southwest winds have gusted to 30 mph within the hour at Birmingham… more than likely some ridgetops have seen gusts to 40. The winds are the result of a tightening pressure gradient across our state ahead of an approaching cold front.

TO THE NORTH: A tornado watch is in effect for parts of Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, and SPC maintains a moderate risk of severe weather in this general area. And, as I type this, a new tornado watch is being issued for East Tennessee until 10:00 p.m. EDT. No real change in our thinking… the severe weather threat will be north of Alabama this evening, closer to the best dynamic lift.

HERE IN ALABAMA: A band of showers has formed over Northwest Alabama at mid-afternoon from Athens to just north of Hamilton… we will maintain the risk of scattered showers tonight as the cold front moves through. The best chance of a shower will come from now until 11:00 p.m., and rain amounts should be light and spotty. The NAM shows no measurable rain for Birmingham tonight, while the GFS is printing 0.08″. Most places south of I-20 won’t have enough rain to measure.

COOLER AIR BLOWS IN LATE TONIGHT: Despite a mostly sunny sky, tomorrow will be much cooler with a high only in the mid 60s, and we are still projecting lows in the 35-39 degree range early Friday with some potential for a little scattered, light frost. Some of the colder valleys across North Alabama might briefly touch the freezing mark. Then, we warm to near 70 Friday afternoon with a good supply of sunshine.

OUR WEEKEND: While most of the day Saturday will be dry, we can’t rule out an afternoon shower in spots with some degree of moisture and instability. The better chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm will come Saturday night and Sunday. The rain won’t be continuous, and the sun could peek out at times Sunday, but just keep in mind a shower is possible at just about any hour of the day. Looks like highs will be in the mid to upper 70s over the weekend.

NEXT WEEK: Still looks like the most widespread rain will be Monday… the GFS is not quite as aggressive on the 12Z run with the upper support, but at least 1/2 inch of rain looks likely statewide with some potential for strong thunderstorms, although it is certainly not a classic severe weather setup. Drier and begins to move in Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning we could be in the mid to upper 30s. At this time it looks like we stay above freezing, but that could change as we get closer.

LONG RANGE: See the Weather Xtreme video and the GFS is showing the coldest air in here in the April 8 time frame, but we all know that is voodoo at this time. One way or another I still expect one more freeze for much of North Alabama this season. We just can’t be specific yet.

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I had a great time today seeing the kindergarten 1st grade students at Pleasant Valley Elementary in Calhoun County… 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….

Tags: showers

Category: Alabama's Weather