Sunday Weather Briefing: Dry and Cool Through the Work Week

NO VIDEO THIS MORNING DUE TO A SPECIAL PROJECT

Saturday was SkyWARN Recognition Day across the nation. A special thanks goes out to all the volunteers that help the National Weather Service in their mission to protect life and property from severe storms.

DRAB AND DREARY: That was an apt description of Saturday across Alabama. The day started with an area of rain entering northwest Alabama and an MCS moving along the Gulf Coast. The system to the south siphoned away the instability and most of the moisture and led to some paltry rainfall amounts for the northern half of the state. Amounts were generally between one quarter and one-half inch, excerpt across parts of Fayette and Winston Counties where a few lucky folks got more. Fog and mist were the order of the day for many. But at least the day was mild, with highs in the middle and upper 60s and lower 70s. Humidity levels were high, and as a matter of fact, precipitable water values were about as high as you will ever see them across North and Central Alabama in early December. The soundings yesterday from Birmingham were around 1.50 inches, just off the all time max for the first few days of December of 1.72 inches. The foggy conditions improved through the overnight hours as the cold front pushed southeastward through the area and slightly drier air filtered in behind the front.

FOR YOUR SUNDAY: The front has reached the Wiregrass of Southeast Alabama this morning and that slightly drier air is moving in, but don’t expect the clouds to clear very quickly. Some sunshine will return to the Tennessee Valley during the morning, and slowly through the afternoon during the rest of the afternoon. Highs this afternoon will be in the lower 60s across the Tennessee Valley with middle 60s across Central Alabama. With the clearing skies, overnight lows tonight will be in the 40s across the area. A few 30s will be recorded in the normally colder valley locations of North Alabama.

ROLLING DEEPER INTO DECEMBER: As we get into Monday, a fast moving, deep upper trough will be swinging by to the north. Here in Alabama, it will be mostly sunny, breezy at times, and cooler. High temperatures will range from the upper 50s in the Tennessee Valley to the lower 60s across Central Alabama.

MIDWEEK MERCURY SEESAW: The middle part of the week will be highlighted by sunshine, cool temperatures, and a reinforcing cold front passing through fairly unnoticed except for the breezy winds on Wednesday. Tuesday will mostly sunny and mild. Break out the jackets for Tuesday as highs struggle to make the 50s. Thursday should feature moderating temperatures with highs in the middle and upper 50s.

HIGH SCHOOL PLAYOFFS: The Alabama Super Seven Championships will be played in Tuscaloosa starting Wednesday evening. The 7A Championship Game between Thompson and Central –Phenix City will be played under fair skies, with diminishing winds and cool temperatures in the 40s falling into the 30s. The 3A game will be played at 11 a.m. Thursday with game time temperatures in the 50s with plenty of sun. Same for the 1A game at 3 p.m. The Thursday evening 5A game will feature fair skies and readings falling into the 40s. Fast forwarding to Friday and a trio of games which will feature sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures, including the 4A game at 11 a.m. which will kick off with bright sunshine and readings in the upper 50s heading to the lower 60s. The 2A game at 3 p.m. will start off in the 60s falling into the 50s and the 6A game at 7 p.m. will start of in the 50s heading toward the 40s by the time the last trophy is hoisted.

WEEKEND OUTLOOK: If you read the previous paragraph, you probably have an idea of how Friday will look, sunny, with highs warming into the 62-65 range. By Saturday, another upper-level trough will be racing toward Alabama from the Central Plains. By Sunday, a big upper low will be centered near Louisville. Showers will reach Alabama by Saturday night with rain and storms increasing through Sunday morning. The cold upper low may spread some light snows into Tennessee by late Sunday. Alabama could see a few snowflakes mixed in late Sunday night. But no accumulation is expected.

WEEK TWO VOODOO: The week two period will feature high pressure to start the week, with another wet weather system around Wednesday night the 13th and Thursday the 14th. The rest of the week into the weekend looks cool and dry. But another storm system is out there on the horizon, and could bring a mix of rain and some wintry precipitation That Sunday. That will be interesting to watch.

BEACHCAST: Much of the week ahead will be dry along the beautiful beaches of Alabama and Northwest Florida. But the week will feature a gradual cooling trend through Thursday, before temperatures reverse themselves ahead of the next storm system due in next weekend. Highs today will be in the lower 70s, with 60s through Tuesday and readings near 60F Wednesday and Thursday. Lows will be in the 40s starting Monday night, returning to the 50s by next Friday night. Watch out for a high rip current risk today, returning to a moderate to low risk through midweek. Water temperatures are slowly backing off, now in the lower 60s. Click here to see the Beach Forecast Center page.

DANCING WITH THE STATS: Mobile picked up 3.09 inches of rain yesterday. That was enough to qualify as a record for the date. Unfortunately, the rainfall was fairly localized and did not fall in the areas that have been so drought ridden recently.

ADVERTISE WITH US: Deliver your message to a highly engaged audience by advertising on the AlabamaWX.com website. We have a lot of big plans for this year. Don’t miss out! We can customize a creative, flexible, and affordable package that will suit your organization’s needs. Contact me, Bill Murray, at (205) 687-0782 and let’s talk.

WEATHERBRAINS: This week’s show will be an excellent one, produced by Rick Smith, covering the latest development in fire weather warnings. Check out the show at www.WeatherBrains.com. You can also subscribe on iTunes. You can watch the show live on our new YouTube channel for the show.You will be able to see the show on the James Spann 24×7 weather channel on cable or directly over the air on the dot 2 feed.

ON THIS DATE IN 1983: 9.22” of rain fell at the Birmingham AL NWS Office the night before an epic Iron Bowl that featured a tornado warning during the game. The game was not even delayed. More in a special post that will go up at 9 a.m. this morning on AlabamaWX.com. Follow my weather history tweets on Twitter. I am @wxhistorian at Twitter.com.

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS