Sunday Weather Briefing Video: A Beautiful Sunday; Watching the Western Caribbean

This morning marked the end of daylight saving time, when we “fell back” by setting our clocks one hour earlier, granting an extra hour of sleep but cutting evening daylight short. If you’re up extra early today, it might be because you forgot to turn your clock back last night! Love it or hate it, this ritual traces back to measures during World War I, aimed at conserving energy. While many view the practice as unnecessary today, it’s still in place due to federal legislation passed in 2007, despite mixed opinions and ongoing debates about its benefits and drawbacks. As we adjust to earlier sunsets, we reflect on the pros, cons, and history of this unique seasonal shift.

DID YOU KNOW? As a devoted train enthusiast, I always appreciate the smooth, scenic experience that Amtrak and other railways provide. Yeah, right. But when daylight saving time ends, Amtrak handles the change seamlessly: trains running overnight pause for an hour at 2 a.m. as clocks “fall back” to 1 a.m. This brief stop keeps them on schedule, preventing early arrivals at upcoming stations. If the train is more than an hour late, which is sometimes the case, it will just keep on truckin’ to make up time.

PUTTING A BOW ON A DRY MONTH: When rain began finally falling at 9 p.m. on Halloween night, it marked the first rainfall of October 2024 at the Shuttlesworth Birmingham International Airport, narrowly averting the month becoming only the second in Birmingham history to recorded absolutely no rainfall. It happened only once, in October 1924. Only a trace fell in 2016, also a very dry month. By the time the meteorological day ended at 1 a.m., 0.25 inches had fallen, making it officially the eleventh driest October on Record in the Magic City. October is normally the driest month of the year, with 3.34 inches of rain falling on average.

TODAY’S WEATHER SETUP: This morning, high pressure dominates the region, providing clear and dry conditions. A backdoor cold front is expected to influence temperatures as we move into Monday and beyond.

SUNNY SUNDAY AHEAD: Expect mostly sunny skies throughout the day, with warm temperatures reaching the upper 70s. Southeast winds will be 10 to 15 mph, making for a pleasant day. Expect mostly sunny skies throughout the day, with warm temperatures reaching the upper 70s to low 80s.

EARLY WEEK OUTLOOK: Sunday night will become mostly cloudy, with lows in the lower 60s. Breezy conditions will develop as a low-pressure system approaches from the Great Plains, tightening the pressure gradient. Southeast winds will continue at 10 to 15 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph. High pressure will maintain control through Monday, ensuring continued dry conditions and warm highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. High pressure will maintain control through Monday, ensuring continued dry conditions and warm highs in the upper 70s to low 80s. On Tuesday, increasing cloud cover will precede an approaching front, with rain chances rising by Tuesday night, especially in northwest Alabama. Highs will still reach the upper 70s to near 80.

MIDWEEK CHANGES COMING: Wednesday will bring scattered showers and slightly cooler temperatures, with highs in the mid to upper 70s.

LOOKING TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK: Thursday and Friday will remain mostly cloudy as the front stalls to the west of Alabama. Isolated rain chances persist, but significant rainfall is not expected. Highs will moderate to the mid-70s. A potential tropical system in the Gulf is being watched, but its impact on Alabama’s weather is highly uncertain. It could turn northeast ahead of the frontal system by the weekend, perhaps bringing rain and gusty winds to parts of the state.

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT WEEKEND: Powered by a progressive trough, the front could gain enough momentum to push into the state and join forces with the potential tropical system to bring rain by Saturday and Sunday.

A GLIMPSE INTO NEXT WEEK: The extended outlook points to a potential shift with cooler air filtering in as November progresses. But we will take readings in the lower 70s by day and 50s by night. We could avoid rain through the remainder of the week two period if the GFS is right.

BEACHCAST: If you’re heading to the beautiful beaches of Alabama and northwest Florida, expect mostly sunny skies today with highs around 80 degrees and water temperatures in the mid-70s. A high rip current risk is in effect through late Wednesday night, so exercise caution when entering the water. Surf heights will range from 3 to 5 feet, with breezy southeast winds at 10 to 20 mph.
Early in the week, the risk of rip currents remains high, with surf continuing at 3 to 5 feet. Winds will stay breezy, creating rougher surf conditions. By midweek, rain chances may begin to rise as showers approach late Tuesday into Wednesday

Click here to see the Beach Forecast Center page.

IN THE TROPICS: The Azores, an archipelago in the mid-Atlantic, are an autonomous region of Portugal known for their dramatic volcanic landscapes, lush greenery, and coastal cliffs. Situated about 900 miles west of mainland Portugal, the islands are spread across a vast expanse of ocean and are divided into three main groups: the eastern, central, and western islands. The Azores’ location makes them a key point of interest for Atlantic weather systems, often experiencing impacts from tropical and subtropical storms as they move across the ocean. In fact, 14 subtropical or tropical storms, or hurricanes have impacted the islands since 1973.

That is the case this morning, Subtropical Storm Patty continues to move east-southeastward near the islands, passing very close to the largest island in the archipelago, Sao Miguel. Patty maintains maximum sustained winds of 50-55 mph, bringing tropical storm conditions and rainfall of 1 to 2 inches. Life-threatening surf and rip currents are also a concern for the islands. The system will weaken to depression status on Monday and will make landfall near the Spanish/Portuguese border on Tuesday.

LOOKING TO THE CARIBBEAN: Today, the potential for tropical development in the west-central Caribbean is becoming more pronounced. A broad area of low pressure in the southwestern Caribbean, designated as Invest 97-L by the National Hurricane Center, is expected to slowly organize and head north toward Jamaica by Monday. It may become a tropical depression by then and potentially strengthen into Tropical Storm Rafael by Tuesday as it moves into the northwestern Caribbean.

Model scenarios suggest that by late Wednesday, Invest 97-L could enter the southern Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm. Wind shear and unfavorable conditions may limit its strength, but potential paths include movement toward Florida or further into the central/western Gulf. some runs of the GFS have been bringing a minimal hurricane to the central Gulf Coast between Louisiana and Northwest Florida next weekend.

At this point, significant concerns for the coast seem minimal due to cooling ocean temperatures and strong upper-level winds typical for November. Still, faster development or a shift northward could change the forecast, so staying informed on updates is wise. Gulf coast residents should monitor.

NATIONALLY: Today, snow will spread through the Rockies, bringing the first of three storms set to impact Denver and the Front Range. This initial storm continues through tonight and Monday, with expected snow totals of 1-4 inches. A second storm will bring similar snow amounts midweek, while a stronger system arriving around the 13th-16th could deliver over 4 inches. In the Northeast, a potential snowstorm from the 10th-12th may start as rain before intensifying into heavy snow for Northern New England and Maine. In the Plains, severe weather will shift from the southern Plains, where storms have been active, and spread into the Eastern Plains and the Mississippi Valley by Monday and Tuesday. This active pattern could result in damaging hail, strong winds, and tornadoes, typical of the secondary severe weather season that occurs in late fall. The storms are expected to bring 1-4 inches of rain through tonight and Monday, possibly leading to flash flooding. Longer-range patterns show the western trough keeping snow active in the Rockies through mid-November, while December through March temperatures are projected to stay colder than average.

WEATHERBRAINS: This week, the panel will entertain a couple of News Directors with real ties to meteorology. 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 and you can see the live 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 2003: Pinson established a new record high for the date with a temperature of 87F. Other locations in the Heart of Dixie tied their record highs for the date, including Birmingham (84F), Anniston (84F), and Montgomery (85F). It was part of a five day stretch of 80s to start the month across Central Alabama. Follow my weather history tweets on Twitter. I am @wxhistorian at Twitter.com.

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Tropical