Cooler Air Today; Rain Next Week?
RADAR CHECK: Nice to see a few showers on radar early this morning ahead of the cold front pushing through Alabama… but they are fading fast as I write this just before sunrise. Our Skywatcher at Concord, in the western part of the Birmingham metro, did received 0.02″ overnight, but data from radar suggests that Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport (where the records are kept) remained dry…
So… our streak of consecutive days without measurable rain will continue. Today will be the 47th day with no rain, and there is a chance we beat the record streak of 52 rain-free days in a row in 1924.
TODAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: The sky becomes sunny today, with a high in the mid 70s and a fresh north breeze. The weekend will feature sunny pleasant days and clear cool nights; highs in the 70s and lows in the 40s.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: For round one of the high school playoff games tonight, the weather will be clear and cool with temperatures falling into the 50s.
Auburn will host Vanderbilt tomorrow (11a CT kickoff)… it will be a perfect day for football with a sunny sky… temperatures will climb from 68 at kickoff, to near 74 by the fourth quarter.
Alabama will be on the road; they play LSU tomorrow night (7p CT kickoff)… the sky will be clear with temperatures falling into the 60s. A great night for football.
NEXT WEEK: The week begins with dry and pleasant weather, but global models are putting the idea of some rain back on the table for Thursday/Friday with an upper trough approaching. No drought buster, but nice to get some water in the soil if this can verify. The QPF (Quantitative Precipitation Forecast) for the next seven days suggests potential for 2 inches of rain for the Alabama Gulf Coast late next week, with .25 to .50″ for the northern counties…
LONG RANGE: Guidance from the European global model ensemble (ECMWF) continues to suggest potential for over 5 inches of rain for North/Central Alabama from mid-November to mid-December as we get back to a more routine pattern.
An interesting analog to this year is 2000; temperatures were well above average in October with most days in the 80s and only 1.26? of rain. Then, after a mid-November pattern flip, we had a big severe weather event in December (December 16), followed by bitterly cold air. Not saying this will happen this year, but just an interesting observation.
We should also mention the 80s are gone for a while as temperatures trend downward in coming weeks. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.
AT THE BEACH: Sunny days and clear nights through the weekend from Panama City Beach to Gulf Shores with highs in the 70s. See a very detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.
TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet and tropical storm formation is not expected through next week.
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 have a weather program this morning at Deer Valley Elementary in Hoover… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!
Category: Alabama's Weather
About the Author (Author Profile)
James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
