Sunshine Returns

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While the clouds were breaking up yesterday afternoon giving most spots a few peeks at the sun, today will be a day with full sun but somewhat cool with highs only in the lower and middle 60s. These values are about 5 to 8 degrees below where we typically see daily highs in late March. The wind will remain out of the north today, but with high pressure settling into the Southeast US, the wind should not be as noticeable as yesterday.

An upper level ridge develops into the eastern US today and Monday. And the ridge is fairly strong extending northward into Southeast Canada. This will effectively become a shield for us until Thursday deflecting a strong short wave moving out of the Rockies on Monday but lifting across the Great Lakes Tuesday and Wednesday. While that strong trough will dampen the ridge a bit, it looks like the ridge will be strong enough to keep us dry until sometime on Thursday. By Wednesday we could see our afternoon highs push into the lower 80s for the warmest day so far for 2014.

Clouds will be increasing Thursday with the approach of another short wave trough to suppress the ridge. There is likely to be some risk of showers by the latter half of Thursday especially northwest of the Birmingham area. But by Friday and Saturday another trough coming out of the Rockies should bring a surface low across the Central US with an attendant risk for severe storms in the middle Mississippi River Valley. With the presence of a frontal boundary we’re likely to see showers continue into Saturday as highs drop back into the 70s with the clouds. The GFS suggests this boundary will push a little further southward to the Gulf Coast on Sunday moving the rain south out of Central Alabama. But yet another trough coming out of the Rockies late Sunday and into Monday promises to bring more wet weather back for the start of Week 2.

Looking out into voodoo country, a strong trough moves into the eastern US Monday and Tuesday, but a ridge builds back strongly around the 10th of April with signs of some sharply warmer weather. But that warmer weather could be short-lived if the GFS is correct. It shows a cold, deep trough over the eastern third of the US by the 14th. So the big message coming from the model guidance in Week 2 is a continuation of an active weather pattern.

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James Spann will be up next on Monday morning with the next edition of the Weather Xtreme Video. I hope you will have a chance to enjoy the day. Don’t forget that the ABC 3340 Weather Team will be in Trussville at Academy Sports on Wednesday from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm programming weather radios. Hope to see you there. Godspeed.

-Brian-

Category: Alabama's Weather