Mild, Rain, Snow, Cold

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Yep… we will be using all of those words in the forecast package this morning….

Today will be a very nice day; look for a high in the upper 60s with a partly sunny sky. Clouds will thicken tonight, and some rain should arrive by early tomorrow morning in response to a new storm system that will impact Alabama.

WET TOMORROW: We will forecast periods of rain tomorrow as a surface low moves from near Mobile over to near Phenix City/Columbus. On this track, any thunder should be over the southern half of the state, and the threat of severe weather well to the southeast of here (South Georgia and Florida all the way down to I-4). The latest model extraction from the NAM shows 0.57″ of rain for Birmingham, which sounds good to me. The heaviest rain in Alabama should come over the southeast corner of the state, where Dothan could see up to two inches.

SNOW FLAKES? No real change in our thinking; as the surface low pulls away to the northeast, colder air will move into Alabama, and the rain should taper off to light snow on the back side of the departing storm. Most of the snow will come in the 12:00 midnight to 8:00 a.m. (Saturday) time frame, and the best chance of accumulating snow will be over the northeast corner of Alabama, specifically in Madison, Jackson, Marshall, and DeKalb counties, mainly over higher terrain. One to two inches are possible there. To the south, some spots over Cherokee and Etowah counties might see one-half inch (again, mostly higher terrain), with a dusting possible down to Birmingham and Anniston.

Major travel issues are unlikely due to the relatively warm ground, and the fact that surface temperatures will be a bit above freezing as the light snow falls.

COLD DAY SATURDAY: The light snow and flurries should be over by midday Saturday, but the day will be cold. The NAM is now printing a high of only 39 for Birmingham, while the GFS shows 43. Either way, the day will be blustery with an icy northwest wind and just a few intervals of sunshine during the afternoon. We will be down in the mid to upper 20s by early Sunday morning.

WARMER DAYS: A warming trend begins Sunday afternoon as we reach the 58 to 62 degree range with sunshine back in full force. Highs will be in the 60s through much of next week.

LONG RANGE IDEAS: A disturbance might bring a shower to Alabama Monday night, but the next major system is due in here over the latter half of next week. Looks like a good round of showers and storms Thursday (maybe some strong to severe storms), followed by colder air Friday, and maybe even a few snow flurries on the back side of the storm.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 30 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. You can even listen here on the blog; look for the player on the top left.

Busy is the word this time of the year… today I will be speaking at Meadowview Elementary School this morning… then early this afternoon I will stop by another Shelby County school, Valley Elementary in Pelham, for another weather program. Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

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