Midday Nowcast: Showers and Mild Temperatures Today; Much Colder Weekend Weather

ONE MORE MILD DAY: More clouds than sunshine again today and rain will become likely statewide ahead of a cold front. A few storms are possible this afternoon, especially over the Tennessee Valley of the state, but severe storms are not expected. Rain amounts will be light, under one-quarter of an inch for most of the state with these heavier amounts over the Tennessee Valley. Highs today will be in the low 70s. Lingering showers tonight, but again light where they occur, look for lows in the upper 30s and lower 40s.

BIRMINGHAM ALMANAC: For December 18th, the average high for Birmingham is 56° and the average low is 38°. The record high is 76° set in 1984, while the record low is 8° set in 1901. We average 0.16” of precipitation on this date and the record value is 1.48” set in 1995.

ACROSS THE USA: A Pacific storm system will track through the Northwest U.S. today then across the Northern Plains, Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Thursday into Friday. Areas of moderate to heavy snow and gusty to high winds are expected. In the eastern U.S., a storm system will continue tracking across the region today with widespread showers and thunderstorms. A wintry mix will be possible in the Northeast U.S

COOLER TOMORROW & FRIDAY: Behind the front, a cooler, drier air mass returns to the Alabama for tomorrow and Friday. Expect sunshine in full supply with highs in the mid to upper 50s, while lows will begin the mid 30s. These temperatures will be right at seasonal average for mid-December.

COLD WEEKEND WEATHER: Much colder air arrives over the weekend as highs drop into the 40s for the northern half of Alabama with lows 50s for South Alabama, and overnight lows fall into the 20s for most of Alabama. This air mass will be very dry, so precipitation is not in the forecast. Both Saturday and Sunday will feature abundant sunshine.

CHRISTMAS WEEK: Little change in the forecast for no for next week. We are forecasting a warming trend for the first half of next week and by Christmas Day, highs will be in the upper 50s to lower 60s across Alabama and temperatures reach the 60s statewide by the end of the week. As far as rain chances, the models continue to show the chance for some rain for Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. But we are still seven days out, so things could certainly change. Over the next 7-10 days, we do not see any severe weather or winter weather threat for Alabama and the Deep South.

WORLD TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation outside the U.S. was 110.8F at Urandangi Aerodrome, Australia. The lowest observation was -61.6F at Summit, Greenland.

CONTIGUOUS TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation was 88F at Everglades City, FL. The lowest observation was -13F at Bottineau, ND.

Tags: ANC, colder, featured, mild, showers

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Social Media