Clouds, But Not Much Rain

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TODAY: The air will be colder today; temperatures around here are mostly in the mid 30s this morning with low clouds. Radar early this morning shows rain along the surface front roughly along U.S. 80. Today will be mostly cloudy and cool with a high in the 40s; you might see a few peeks of sun later today, but probably not many. A little drizzle is possible in spots this morning, but significant rain today should stay down over South Alabama.

OUR WEEKEND: The models continue the trend toward a weak Gulf low west of Tampa Bay; this will keep the bulk of the really widespread rain over South Alabama late tonight and tomorrow. We might see a little light rain around here, and maybe even a snow flake or two, but anything that falls should be light. The high tomorrow will be in the 40s, followed by a much brighter day Sunday with returning sunshine and a high in the upper 40s as the surface low deepens and moves up the Atlantic coast. Will be a close call for those along I-95 for snow Sunday; the low might be too far to the east.

NEXT WEEK: The weather looks benign. Temperatures near average for late December in Alabama (highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s), and no major storm systems to deal with. An impulse will bring the chance of showers on Tuesday, but rain amounts should be generally light. A cold front Friday might kick off a shower or two, but again nothing really widespread.

CHRISTMAS DAY: An upper trough does form over the eastern U.S., but this one won’t tap any Arctic air, and the axis of the trough will be east of here, so while the weather does look a little colder, it won’t be harshly cold. Highs in the 40s, and lows a little below freezing based on the latest model data. And, Christmas Day looks dry at this point, so if you are looking for a White Christmas, you will need to keep on dreaming. We have never had one here in the classic sense since weather records started in the 1880s, you know.

LONG RANGE: Sure look like a pattern change is setting up as we wrap up the year. The NAO trends neutral, and the 00Z operational GFS develops a trough in the west, and a ridge over the east around New Year’s. See the Weather Xtreme video for more, but we are confident that the coldest weather in December is now behind us. And, January will begin with a relatively mild pattern. Nothing like last year when January was brutally cold.

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About to head down to the Rick and Bubba studio for the annual year ender… always lots of fun; listen if you can on the way to work or school this morning. The next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 3:30 this afternoon… enjoy the day!

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