Foggy Start

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TAKE IT EASY OUT THERE: A dense fog advisory remains in effect for much of North and Central Alabama this morning very visibilities restricted to a fraction of a mile in spots. The exception is Northwest Alabama, where cooler and drier air is is place.

The surface front has pretty much stopped moving overnight; it is lined up from near Jacksonville to Pelham to Greensboro, and we still have a pretty sharp thermal gradient along that boundary. For example, at 5:00 Gadsden was at 59, while 30 miles to the south Anniston was ten degrees warmer at 69. Farther north, Haleyville is down to a chilly 50 degrees.

TO THE WEST: An MCS (mesoscale convective system) is moving into West Alabama this morning, with strong storms over parts of Tuscaloosa, Greene, Sumter, Pickens, Hale, and Marengo Counties of West Alabama. These storms should slowly weaken as they move east/southeast, and most of this should stay well south of I-20 over Central and East Alabama. Otherwise, today will be partly sunny by afternoon with a high in the low 80s.

LATE TONIGHT: The RPM is very persistent in suggesting an MCS will form tonight to the west, then moving into Central Alabama after midnight (much like the Mississippi MCS this morning). I think there is credibility in this solution with lobes rotating around the very deep upper low near Chicago, and I will go ahead and insert the risk of thunderstorms late tonight (mainly after midnight) for the I-20 corridor. Looks like the main window for rain will come in the midnight to 6:00 a.m. time frame.

TOMORROW/THURSDAY: These days should be warm and dry, with ample sunshine and a high in the mid 80s.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: A very refreshing airmass of Polar origin will arrive just in time for the beginning of October and our weekend. A fresh north breeze will develop on Friday as highs drop into the mid to upper 70s, and the weekend looks picture perfect, with blue sky and sunshine, low humidity, pleasant days, and chilly nights. There is a good chance we visit the upper 40s both Saturday and Sunday morning, with low to mid 40s likely for the colder valleys of North Alabama. Highs will be in the 70s. Doesn’t get much better.

The dry weather should linger into early next week.

TROPICS: Looks like Ophelia is getting her act together again northeast of the Leeward Islands, but the system will move due north and is no threat to land. And, in the far eastern Atlantic, Tropical Storm Phillipe is moving north and will remain far at sea. Nothing close to the U.S.

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I will be speaking to a group at UAB this morning… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

Category: Alabama's Weather