Much Colder By Christmas…
An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.
CLOUDS HANG AROUND: Looks like the cloud cover will hang tough through tomorrow morning… a little light rain is possible in spots, but rain amounts will be very light and spotty, and most places won’t have enough rain to measure. Temperatures are warmer than forecast this afternoon over Central and West Alabama; Tuscaloosa and Montgomery have reached 66 degrees at mid-afternoon. The eastern counties are cooler with readings in the mid 50s.
BRIGHTER THURSDAY: Thursday will be a cool and dry day, with ample sunshine and a high closer to 50 as cooler air drops into the state.
CHRISTMAS STORM: Lots of buzz on the blog about the potential for snow Christmas morning. Lots of those that comment on the blogs and forus love snow and are more “wishcasters”… I love snow more than anybody, but you have to be realistic here and respect climatology, in addition to NWP (numerical weather prediction).
As stated in my mid-morning post, there really isn’t much to get excited about at this point. We have noted the 12Z GFS is a little colder, but moisture is pretty limited and dynamics aren’t overly impressive. The ECMWF and the GEM are trending toward the GFS solution, so at this point we don’t see much reason to change our ongoing forecast. See the Weather Xtreme video for all the graphics and a full explanation.
The Christmas storm is still a few days away, and we have plenty of time to make adjustments to the forecast as needed.
The day Friday will be dry and mild with clouds increasing by afternoon. The high will be in the 57-60 degree range. Some rain should arrive Friday night, continuing Christmas morning. The weather turns windy and sharply colder Christmas Day, with temperatures falling into the upper 30s and holding there. And, yes, there could be a little snow on the back side of the departing system, but for now accumulation in this part of Alabama looks unlikely. The best chance of a dusting is up over the Tennessee Valley of extreme North Alabama.
Sunday will be dry but very cold; the GFS is now printing a high of only 37 for Birmingham Sunday with a wind chill index below freezing all day. Monday should be the coldest morning, with lows in the 16-22 degree range.
NEXT WEEK: The 12Z operational run of the GFS is looking more realistic considering the expected NAO flip to positive around the New Year. It shows a storm system in the Dec 30-31 time frame, but the coldest air holds north of Alabama. And, a few days into January, the mean upper trough sets up over the western third of the nation, with a warm ridge over Florida. Again, see the Weather Xtreme video for details.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 30 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.
FOLLOW ALONG: Here are our weather team Twitter accounts….
| James Spann | Jason Simpson | Ashley Brand |
| J. B. Elliott | Bill Murray | Brian Peters |
| Dr. Tim Coleman | WeatherBrains Podcast | E-Warn (AL wx watches/warnings) |
Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow…
Category: Alabama's Weather
About the Author (Author Profile)
James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
