Warm Days Through Friday; Cooler Over The Weekend

WARM DECEMBER WEATHER: The temperature has reached 80 degrees at Mobile and Evergreen at mid-afternoon…. elsewhere temperatures are mostly in the 70s with a mostly cloudy sky. We should note the average high for Birmingham on December 6 is 59. The sky is mostly cloudy across the state, but we are seeing only widely scattered showers over the northern counties.

Any showers across the state will be few and far between tomorrow and Thursday as an upper ridge over the Gulf of Mexico expands northward. Showers are possible Friday ahead of an approaching cold fronts, but rain amounts most likely won’t be too heavy.

Highs will stay in the 70s through Friday, not far from record levels.

Here are the record highs for Birmingham… not expecting to break them, but it will be close.

December 6 (today) 78, set in 1998
December 7 (tomorrow) 80, set in 1951
December 8 (Thursday) 79, set in 1978
December 9 (Friday) 74, set in 1946

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: For now Saturday looks relatively dry with only widely scattered showers. Then, periods of rain look likely Sunday as moist air surges northward. Highs over the weekend will be in the mid to upper 60s with generally cloudy conditions.

NEXT WEEK: While a few isolated showers are possible Monday and Tuesday, the rain will be more widespread Wednesday and Wednesday night, along with the chance of a few thunderstorms. We note SPC has a risk of severe storms defined in their convective outlook for Monday, but for now it looks like the severe weather threat in Alabama will be fairly low at mid-week as the main dynamic support will pass well to the north. We will still watch model output closely over the next few days for any changes.

Cooler, drier air returns Thursday and Friday. Highs will be in the 60s and low 70s for the first half of the week, then dropping into the 50s by Thursday. We do note global models are showing signals for colder weather for the Deep South over the latter half of December… See the daily Weather Briefing video for maps, graphics, and more details.

TROPICS: A large area of low pressure located over the central subtropical Atlantic about 800 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands continues to produce a broad area of showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions appear marginally conducive for development and a subtropical or tropical storm could form in the next couple of days. By Thursday night or Friday, the low will move northeastward over cooler waters and interact with a mid-latitude trough, limiting subtropical or tropical development of the system.

This system is far from land and won’t impact the U.S.

ON THIS DATE IN 1913: A snowstorm from December 1st through the 6th dumps a record total of 45.7 inches in Denver, Colorado. This storm produced the most snow ever recorded in a single Denver snowstorm.

ON THIS DATE IN 1983: An F3 tornado moved through Selma during the pre-dawn hours; it on the ground for 13 miles. At least 103 structures were damaged/destroyed along the path. 30-40 vehicles at a new car dealership were destroyed. Numerous units at The Rangedale Housing Project in Selma were demolished. There was one fatality here. Clarence Chappell was asleep when the tornado hit. A dormitory at Selma University was struck by the twister. 50 students were occupying the dorm at the time. Seven students received minor injuries when the roof and parts of the second floor of their dorm was destroyed.

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.

Look for the next Weather Briefing video here by 6:00 a.m. tomorrow…

Tags: ANC, featured, warm

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Weather Xtreme Videos