A Chilly Last Day Of March

| March 31, 2011 @ 3:11 pm | Reply

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NOT FEELING LIKE SPRING: Today is opening day for Major League Baseball 2011, but it feels more like opening day for hockey season. Temperatures at 2:00 around Alabama included 46 at Gadsden and Huntsville, and 48 at Birmingham. We should be in the low 70s this time of the year. Clouds continue to cover much of North Alabama, although the sky has cleared down over South Alabama, and parts of West Alabama are seeing some sun.

TONIGHT/TOMORROW: Another disturbance is riding down the back side of the eastern U.S. upper trough, and the sky will stay cloudy tonight into tomorrow morning, with some risk of a few showers. The sun should begin to break through tomorrow afternoon, and there is a chance we actually climb above the 60 degree mark as a warming trend begins.

BRIGHTER AND WARMER WEEKEND: The weather still looks delightful Saturday and Sunday, with ample sunshine and warmer afternoons. We should reach the low 70s Saturday, followed by upper 70s Sunday.

SEVERE WEATHER THREAT EARLY NEXT WEEK: No doubt much of the Deep South will have a significant severe weather threat, but no way of nailing down the details this early. The 12Z GFS is slower, suggesting the main threat will come Tuesday, perhaps during the afternoon and evening hours when the air is most unstable. However, the 12Z ECMWF is faster, with the main batch of rain and storms in here Monday night. Gut feeling says the slower GFS is correct, but again it is simply too early to get the timing down. We will be able to be much more specific over the weekend.

Colder air spills in here following the storms, and still no strong evidence for a major, widespread freeze at this point. See the Weather Xtreme video for long range thoughts and ideas.

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James Spann Jason Simpson Ashley Brand
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I had a great time today visiting with the 2nd and 3rd graders at Cornerstone School in Woodlawn… 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 here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow…

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Category: Alabama's Weather

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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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