Temps Go The Wrong Way Today

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WET WITH FALLING TEMPERATURES: A cold front early this morning is lined up from near Huntsville to Jasper to Aliceville. Ahead of the front, it is warm and muggy with temperatures around 70, but behind the front we are seeing mid 50s over Northwest Alabama. The cool air will win the battle today with falling temperatures; most places will wind up in the 50s this afternoon with a cool northwest breeze. You might actually need a light jacket or sweater this afternoon.

And, in addition to the cooler air, we will deal with rain today. Nothing severe, nothing really heavy. But, periods of rain are likely. Radar this morning shows a narrow band of showers along the actual front, but the bulk of the more widespread rain is in the cool air behind the front. So, expect rain at times today with steadily falling temperatures. Not exactly your Chamber of Commerce day. Rain amounts should be 1/2 inch or less.

CHILLY NIGHT AHEAD: Rain moves out this evening, followed by a clearing sky. Most communities will wind up in the low 40s early tomorrow, with upper 30s possible for the colder valleys. Probably one of the last really chilly mornings until the pumpkins are out in October. Enjoy it; that long, hot summer will be here soon.

REST OF THE WEEK: Expect delightful weather tomorrow through Friday with sunny days and clear nights. We will see a high around 70 tomorrow, followed by mid 70s Thursday, and a high near 80 on Friday. Doesn’t get much better.

WARMER WEEKEND: The dry weather lasts into the weekend. I think we can remove that slight risk of a shower Sunday based on model output; look for a partly to mostly sunny sky Saturday and Sunday with highs in the low to mid 80s. Humidity levels will be higher.

LONG RANGE: Again, the good news is that models show no significant severe weather risk for Alabama for the next 15 days. Temperatures will be a little above average, with rain below average thanks to a mean upper ridge over the Southeast U.S. But, remember, May is still tornado season so we can’t totally let down our guard.

ON THIS DATE IN 1999: While we mourn the lives lost last week in our historic tornado outbreak, those in Oklahoma remember what happened on this date in 1999… 66 tornadoes and heavy loss of life. The most significant tornado first touched down southwest of Chickasha, Oklahoma, and became an EF5 before dissipating over Midwest City, Oklahoma. The tornado tore through Bridge Creek, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Moore, Del City, Tinker Air Force Base and Midwest City, Oklahoma, causing $1.1 billion in damage. Forty-eight people perished during the outbreak. This tornadic event ranks in severity with the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965. With a total of 66-74 tornadoes, it was the most prolific tornado outbreak in Oklahoma history, although not the deadliest.

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I have a weather program today at Helena Elementary School…. be looking for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day….

Tags: cool.wet

Category: Alabama's Weather