Cold Front Almost Here
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ON THE MAPS: The long awaited cold front is near Memphis this morning; ahead of the front a narrow band of showers is seen from near Greenwood, MS to the northwest corner of Alabama. These showers are slowly fading, and we don’t expect anything more than few sprinkles today over the northern quarter of Alabama. Measurable rain is very unlikely. We should reach the mid 60s today before the cold air floods in here tonight.
COLD SATURDAY: We begin the day tomorrow at or below freezing; the GFS is printing a low of 31 for Birmingham. Then, despite a sunny sky, there is a pretty good chance we won’t reach 50 degrees with a chilly north wind of 10-20 mph during the day. The GFS shows a high of 48 tomorrow, and that should be right on the money. Tuscaloosa could see 50 if they are lucky.
We drop well down into the 20s early Sunday, which will be our coldest morning so far this season; colder valleys will have a good chance of reaching the upper teens. Then, the day Sunday will be sunny and cool with a high in the upper 50s.
NEXT WEEK: The GFS continues to back off on the idea of severe weather here Tuesday, and the ECMWF is in pretty good agreement. So, we will mention a good chance of showers and storms late Monday night and Tuesday, but for now the severe weather risk is low. Rain amounts will be in the 1/2 inch range, and cooler and drier air will follow the rain on Wednesday. See the Weather Xtreme video for the details and graphics.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school playoff games tonight, temperatures will drop through the 40s with a chilly north breeze at 7 to 14 mph, but the sky will be generally clear.
Tomorrow’s Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa will be dry and cold. The sky will be sunny with a kickoff temperature near 51 degrees. The mercury will drop into the mid 40s by halftime, and could very reach the upper 30s by the final whistle. A north breeze of 10-15 mph will make it feel colder.
UAB will travel to a warmer setting, where they play UCF in Orlando tomorrow (11:00 a.m. CST kickoff). The sky will be mostly sunny, with temperatures rising from near 66 at kickoff to around 70 degrees by the fourth quarter.
ELEVEN YEARS AGO TOMORROW: Three dozen tornadoes touched down in Alabama November 24, 2011, killing four people and injuring many more. Two deaths were at Sand Rock, in Cherokee County, and the other two were in West Alabama’s Lamar County at Kennedy. The National Weather Service in Birmingham issued 85 warnings including 58 tornado warnings for 33 counties and 27 severe thunderstorm warnings for 22 counties.
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Brian Peters will have the Weather Xtreme video updates tomorrow and Sunday… my next Weather Xtreme video will be posted bright and early Monday morning by 7 a.m. Enjoy the weekend!
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
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