Rain/Storms Return Over The 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.

ONE MORE NICE DAY: Another cold start to this day for North Alabama… Vic Bell, our Skywatcher up at Black Creek in Etowah County near Gadsden, reports 33 degrees at 5:30 this morning with more frost. Haleyville, Cullman, and Fort Payne are also down in the 30s. This just seems to be the winter that won’t go away.

We will warm nicely today with a good supply of sunshine; most communities will reach the mid 70s today.

Clouds invade tonight, and a few showers could creep into far North Alabama as we get set for an unsettled weekend of weather.

RAIN AT TIMES OVER THE WEEKEND: Take a few minutes to watch the Weather Xtreme video… lots of maps and graphics that will help you plan outdoor events.

Bottom line is that we will be wet at times both days, but the weekend won’t be a total washout.

TOMORROW: The GFS and the NAM models are suggesting the most widespread rain during the day tomorrow will come over far North Alabama… the Tennessee Valley, and up into the state of Tennessee. Showers are possible elsewhere at any time, but they should be pretty widely spaced, and for places like Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Anniston, and Gadsden we should get away with some decent rain-free periods. The sky will be cloudy and the high will be in the mid to upper 70s.

Rain and storms will become more widespread late in the day and tomorrow night. We note that the NAM suggests surface based CAPE values (instability) will rise to over 2,000 j/kg, so certainly a strong storm is possible, but the wind fields are not especially strong, and bulk shear values are relatively low for late April. So, for now organized severe weather is not expected. We do note SPC has the standard “slight risk” of severe weather in place tomorrow west of Alabama for much of North Mississippi, so we will watch radar trends closely.

SUNDAY: Occasional showers and a few thunderstorms are likely as a surface cold front approaches from the west. It won’t rain all day, but it could rain at any time during the day. Severe storms are not expected with marginal instability and wind fields. Like Saturday, the sky will be generally cloudy with a high up in the mid to upper 70s.

NEXT WEEK: The moist air sticks around, so showers are still possible Monday through Wednesday. But, on these three days there isn’t much in the way of dynamics, so showers should be fairly scattered, and the sun could be out at times. The weather will be warm with highs around 80 degrees.

Later in the week, a deep, full latitude upper trough will form over the eastern third of the nation Thursday. This pushes a cold front the state Thursday with a band of showers and storms… for now there seems to be little risk of severe weather.

Then, unusually cool air for May blows into Alabama on Friday. We might have a hard time getting out of the 50s Friday afternoon with a very chilly north wind, and we might make a run at record lows around here early Saturday morning, May 4…. the GFS hints at temperatures 25-30 degrees below average. The weather for that weekend (May 4-5) should be dry and cool.

Again, see the Weather Xtreme video for the maps, graphics, and details.

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…

Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Instagram

I will be speaking at the Moody High School senior breakfast this morning, and later today I will be doing a weather program at Montevallo Elementary School. Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

Tags: sunny

Category: Alabama's Weather