Nice Warm-up Before Another Chill

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Okay, if I can’t get any snow, I’m ready for winter to be over. So far for the first 24 days of January, 2014, the average high in Birmigham has been 49 degrees, four degrees colder than the 30-year average of 53. And our average low so far has been 26 which is six degrees below the climatological average of 32. But in spite of the cold we’ve only seen some snow flurries – and that’s just not right!

Look for a nice warm-up in our temperatures today and Sunday before another shot of cold air arrives on Monday. The long wave trough remains positioned over the eastern half of the country with a continuation of disturbances rotating through that long wave trough axis.

Another shot of cold air arrives Monday with a strong impulse moving into the base of the long wave trough. Once again, we have the potential for some snow flurries but the cold air arrives just after the moisture has departed, so clouds and some flurries should be all we see.

That front opens the way for another cold period with lows into the 9 to 14 degree range Tuesday morning and highs struggling to reach about 30. Wednesday will be cold again with single digit lows in the range of 3 to 9 across the area. We may just edge above freezing for the afternoon highs.

The GFS is forecasting a major dampening to the long wave trough that has been so firmly anchored over the eastern half of the country. In fact, we could see highs climb into the 60s by next Saturday.

Looking out into voodoo country, the GFS indicates a major warm-up with a significant ridge becoming established over Florida. This could set the stage for a round of severe weather about February 9th. This is somewhat speculative right now, but the pattern suggests the potential for severe weather with a strong trough coming out of the Central Rockies with significant warming over the eastern portion of the country.

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Thanks for staying tuned to the Weather Blog where you’ll find a stream of notes on the weather for Alabama and other parts of the country. I anticipate posting the next Weather Xtreme Video by 8 am or so on Sunday morning. Stay warm and Godspeed.

-Brian-

Category: Alabama's Weather