Cooler Today; Showers Move In Saturday

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COLDER MORNING: As expected, the weather is colder across Alabama this morning. Birmingham is actually one of the colder spots in the state with 36 degrees just before sunrise; Birmingham and Tuscaloosa are nine degrees warmer with 45. The day ahead will be mostly sunny with a high in the upper 50s.

TOMORROW/THURSDAY: The weather stays calm on these days, although clouds will begin to increase on Thursday. Tomorrow’s high will be near 60 degrees, and we rise into the mid 60s Thursday. These values are very close to our average high of 63 (for November 19). I guess we can’t rule out a sprinkle somewhere on Thursday, but the risk of significant rain is very low.

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: UAB has a game Thursday night at Legion Field against the Rice Owls, the game kicks off at 6:30 CT. The sky will be mostly cloudy, but we don’t expect any significant rain (a touch of drizzle is not out of the question), and temperatures will be comfortable with a kickoff temperature near 58 degrees, falling into the mid 50s during the second half.

FRIDAY/SATURDAY: Friday will be mostly cloudy, and showers could easily creep into Alabama during the afternoon hours and into Friday night, meaning some of the high school playoff games could be played with rain falling at times. Friday will be mild with a high between 65 and 68 degrees.

COLD BLAST FOR THE WEEKEND: We begin the weekend with a band of showers on Saturday ahead of the front. Don’t expect any severe weather, and probably not much thunder. The 06Z GFS suggests the main threat of rain comes during the morning hours, and we will play it that way in the forecast. However, we do note the ECMWF (European model) is slower with the front, and keeps a chance of showers going into the afternoon hours.

If the faster GFS is correct (and we think it is), much colder air will begin spilling into the state Saturday, and it could very well be a day with falling temperatures. Looks like we will hold in the 40s all day Saturday with a chilly north wind increasing during the day behind the front. Not exactly a “Chamber of Commerce” type day. Raw and damp.

SUNDAY: Sunday will be dry with a sunny sky, but the weather will be windy and sharply colder with a high only in the 40-45 degree range. Some communities up in the Tennessee Valley might hold in the 40s all day as the coldest air so far this season arrives.

We will drop down into the 19-24 degree range early Monday; the coldest valleys could see mid teens.

THANKSGIVING WEEK: The GFS continues to show a wave in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which would bring some rain to Alabama Wednesday night and Thanksgiving Day. Otherwise, the rest of the nation looks pretty quiet with no major weather related travel issues. See the Weather Xtreme video for the maps, graphics, and details.

MELISSA: The “sub-tropical” storm in the middle of the Atlantic will move northeast in coming days, and is no threat to land. This should be the last named storm of the 2013 hurricane season, which ends in 11 days.

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I will be speaking at First United Methodist Church of Vestavia Hills… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon. Enjoy the day…

Tags: cooler

Category: Alabama's Weather