Cold Tonight, Then Warmer
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CHILLY AFTERNOON: Despite a good supply of sunshine, temperatures are only in the 40s around here this afternoon. The weather is even colder up north; Huntsville and Muscle Shoals report only 39 degrees at 2:00. A freeze is likely tonight, with most places down in the 25-29 degree range by daybreak tomorrow. Some of the colder spots could reach the low 20s.
WARMER DAYS: We warm nicely tomorrow with a mostly sunny sky and a high in the upper 50s. Mid 60s are likely by Friday afternoon as the warm-up rolls along. Clouds will return Friday, and a few showers could break out Saturday night.
WEEKEND FORECAST: Unfortunately Saturday still looks wet with a short wave providing good dynamic support. Showers and a few thunderstorms are likely, with rain amounts of 1/2 to one inch likely. Again for now the severe weather threat looks rather limited, but we always have to watch these kind of systems carefully during the cold season. The day will be mild with a high in the 60s.
Sunday looks relatively dry, but a cold front could bring showers back to the state Sunday night.
NEXT WEEK: The weather will be active, but there is decent model agreement giving some confidence to the forecast scenario. We will mention a chance of showers, and possibly a thunderstorm, Monday. Then, Tuesday looks dry and a little cooler with a high around 60.
A major storm system should impact Alabama and the Deep South later in the week; the ECMWF suggests it comes Thursday, and we will buy into that solution due to the superior performance of the model this season. Having said that, we note the 12Z GFS has the storm event on Wednesday. The system will need to be monitored for severe potential, but there is absolutely no way you can resolve details on severe weather parameters this far in advance.
LONG RANGE: Still seeing evidence of the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) going negative about the time February gets here on the GFS ensembles… and the 12Z operational run of the GFS shows a whopper of a 1052 mb high over western Canada that just might feed some really cold air down into the “lower 48” with some staying power. See the Weather Xtreme video for details and graphics.
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I had a great today today visiting with the pre-schoolers at the “Treehouse” at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Shelby 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….
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.Subscribe
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