Sharply Cooler This Weekend
An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.
COLD FRONT DUE FRIDAY NIGHT: Our weather will stay very mild and dry today and tomorrow, with ample sunshine and a high in the 77 to 80 degree range. And, while we enjoy this great weather, eyes will be on two features. One is the cold air moving down into the Northwest U.S., and the other is on Tropical Storm Sandy in the Caribbean. Both of these promise to team up to bring a colder and windy weekend.
Moisture will be very limited when the front arrives in Alabama Friday night, and showers should be very spotty, and many places won’t get enough rain to measure. Then, the pressure gradient between Sandy to the east, and the cold high to the northwest, will tighten up Saturday, producing north winds averaging 12-25 mph over Alabama with potential for higher gusts. And, we will struggle to reach the low 60s with a mix of sun and clouds.
Sunday will be a sunny day, but still windy and very cool with a high around 60 as cold air funnels into the state on the west wide of the large circulation of Sandy, which will begin the transformation into a cold core nor’easter late in the weekend off the East Coast of the U.S.
FROST NEXT WEEK? Sure looks like we will have good potential for widespread frost on the Halloween pumpkins by Tuesday morning of next week as the wind dies down, and with a freeze potential for the colder valleys. The week will be dry with sunny days and clear nights.
NORTHEAST U.S. MEGA STORM? Chances are increasing. It all begins with Tropical Storm Sandy, which early this morning is just below hurricane strength, and just below Jamaica. It should cross the islands of Jamaica and Cuba (the eastern quarter) as a category one hurricane, then moving up into the Bahamas by tomorrow night and Friday.
From there, it begins to transform into a cold core, North Atlantic type system late this weekend with a huge circulation. A strong high to the north of the storm should push it back toward the upper Atlantic coast of the U.S., with potential for high impact impacting millions of people.
The GFS is coming on board with this idea, as the 00Z run takes a good bit of energy toward the New England coast by the middle of next week. The ECMWF (European) and the GEMS (Canadian) remain aggressive with the system. The 00Z ECMWF has a whopper, 934 mb low just east of Atlantic City, NJ Monday night… it moves inland Tuesday. The 00Z GEMS is a little weaker, but still shows a powerful storm near Long Island early Wednesday morning.
This system will have potential for high wind and widespread power outages, flooding, and major coastal/beach erosion from New Jersey north early next week. Too early for specifics, but again confidence is growing in a high impact, possibly mega-storm. Take some time to watch the Weather Xtreme video for all the details.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school games tomorrow night, the sky will be mostly fair with temperatures dropping from the low 70s at kickoff into the 60s by the second half. Then, on Friday night, just a small risk of a brief shower, otherwise the sky will be mostly cloudy with temperatures in the 60s.
The Magic City Classic is Saturday afternoon at Legion Field (Alabama State vs Alabama A&M; 2:30 p.m. kickoff); the weather will be windy and very cool with a kickoff temperature near 60 degrees, falling into the 50s during the second half. Strong north winds will average 12-25 mph, with potential for gusts over 30 mph.
Saturday night Alabama will host the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium (7:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly fair, but the weather will be windy and cold. Temperatures will drop from near 54 degrees at kickoff into the 40s during the second half. North winds of 10-20 mph will make it feel colder. Auburn will host Texas A&M at Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday night (6:00 p.m. kickoff); pretty much the same story as Tuscaloosa. Mostly fair with temperatures falling from near 58 at kickoff into the 40s by the fourth quarter. Strong north winds will average 10-20 mph, with potential for higher gusts.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 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.
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
I will be doing a weather program this morning at Northport Elementary School… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!
Category: Alabama's Weather
About the Author (Author Profile)
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
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
