WINDS OF CHANGE: A few spots soared into the low 80s across Alabama yesterday; today will be a different kind of day following a cold front that passed through late last night. It will be much colder with a brisk northwest wind of 12-22 mph; lingering light rain early this morning will end, and the sky becomes partly sunny. Communities across the northern half of the state won’t get out of the 40s; for many places today will be 30 to 35 degrees colder than yesterday.
SEVERE CLEAR: Not a cloud in the Alabama sky this afternoon; temperatures are in the upper 40s over the Tennessee Valley, 50s across central counties, and low 60s are being reported near the Gulf Coast. A stiff north breeze continues to push colder air into the state, and lows will be in the sub-freezing range for most of the state early tomorrow. Most places across North/Central Alabama will see a low between 25 and 29.
WINDY, COOLER TODAY: Look for sunshine in full supply across Alabama today, but the day will be cooler with a high in the 50s, and a brisk northwest wind of 12-22 mph will make it feel colder. The winds will calm down tonight, allowing temperatures to drop into the 20s across North/Central Alabama early tomorrow morning… freezing temperatures are likely deep into South Alabama.
The sky is partly sunny, and the isolated showers from earlier today have dissipated. A cold front will pass through tonight in dry fashion, and will bring noticeably colder air in the days ahead.
TURNING COLDER: This afternoon features a good supply of sunshine across Alabama with temperatures in the 50s and 60s, but colder air will filter into the state tonight, and most communities will be at or below freezing early tomorrow morning.
RADAR CHECK: We have a few showers on radar early this morning in a zone from near Greenville to Opelika… these will end soon and most of the state will be dry today. With a partly sunny sky we project a high in the 57-61 degree range for the northern half of the state, with 60s for South Alabama.
WET START: Rain is fairly widespread across Alabama early this morning ahead of a cold front about to enter the northwest corner of the state. Temperatures are between 55 and 60 degrees across the northern and central counties of the state, and this will be pretty much the high of the day. The rain will end during the midday hours, northwesters winds will increase, and temperatures will fall into the 40s by mid to late afternoon.
RADAR CHECK: The large mass of rain that was over Alabama this morning is now well east of the state, but clouds linger with temperatures in the 60s. A few showers are possible tonight with a passing cold front, but nothing too heavy or widespread.
WINDY/COOL: The big storms that moved trough the region last night and very early this morning have shifted down into the southern quarter of the state, and are much weaker. Following the storms, the sky becomes sunny today, but it will be windy and cool with a high only in the 60-65 degree range, about 20 degrees colder than yesterday. A northwest wind of 15-25 mph will make it feel colder.
WEDGE FRONT: Yesterday featured a huge thermal contrast across Alabama; the northeast corner of the state barely got out of the 40s, while parts of West Alabama flirted with 80 degree warmth. Cold air damming (CAD) was responsible for this; a pattern where cold air slips down the backbone of the Appalachian Mountains and into East Alabama. The wedge will be deeper today, and much of North and Central Alabama will hold in the 50s all day.
LATE SEASON COLD SNAP: A dry cold front moved through North/Central Alabama during the pre-dawn hours with gusty north winds; as a result today will be noticeably cooler. Despite a good supply of sunshine, the high today will be only in the 50-55 degree range.
SUNNY AFTERNOON: As advertised, we have sunshine in full supply across most all of Alabama this afternoon as dry air has returned to the state. Temperatures are in the mid to upper 60s at most reporting stations.
RAW, COLD AFTERNOON: As expected, temperatures have been steadily falling across Alabama this afternoon, and some communities have reached the upper 30s over the northern quarter of the state. Some patchy light rain lingers over Central and South Alabama, but the storms we dealt with early this morning are long gone. Clouds cover all of our state now, but we expect clearing tonight as dry air works in.
LOUD EARLY MORNING STORMS: A band of thunderstorms with torrential rain and gusty winds has been moving through North/Central Alabama early this morning… heaviest rain is now south of I-20.
Heavier rain will push into the southern half of the state in coming hours, where SPC maintains a “marginal risk” of severe thunderstorms. The main threats are from gusty thunderstorm winds and small hail; the tornado threat is very low, but not zero.
DIFFERENT KIND OF DAY: Temperatures across Alabama will be about twenty degrees colder than the ones we enjoyed yesterday; despite a good supply of sunshine we won’t get past the mid 40s this afternoon. Some places up in the Tennessee Valley won’t get out of the 30s. Tonight will be clear and cold with temperatures dropping into the 21-25 degree range early tomorrow morning.
COLDER: Many communities across North/Central Alabama hit the 60 degree mark yesterday, but today will be about 15 degrees colder with highs in the 44-47 degree range despite sunshine in full supply. Tonight will feature another freeze; we drop down into the mid 20s early tomorrow morning. But, expect a nice warm-up tomorrow afternoon as temperatures rise into the mid to upper 50s. The air remains dry tomorrow and the sky will stay mostly sunny.
James Spann
@spann
