Storms Arrive This Evening
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ACTIVE WEATHER AHEAD: Following a weekend that featured record warmth on Saturday, a cold front will move into Alabama tonight, and will bring a line of thunderstorms that could pack a punch.
Ahead of the storms, the day will be warm and windy at times, with southwest winds gusting over 25 mph at times. The high will be at or just over 80 at most locations, with some sun breaking through the clouds by midday.
SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL: The primary risk with the line of storms will be strong winds. Wind profiles look very unidirectional, meaning only a minimal tornado threat. So, expect to see a number of severe thunderstorm warnings with the passage of the squall line, much like Monday night of last week. Winds could be high enough to knock down trees and power lines in spots.
TIMING: Models continue to slow down. It now looks like the storms should enter Northwest Alabama in the 3-4 p.m. time frame… reaching the I-59 corridor (Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden) around 7:00 p.m… then moving out of the state by 11:00 p.m.
RAIN AMOUNTS: The NAM is printing 0.40″ for Birmingham, with the GFS even drier at 0.28″. Bottom line is that rain amounts will be limited by the fairly fast movement of the line, so we are projecting totals around 1/2 inch.
TOMORROW THROUGH THURSDAY: Cooler air drier air rolls in here late tonight, and we expect a sunny day tomorrow with a high only around 70. The sky will stay mostly sunny Wednesday and Thursday, with mid 70s Wednesday, and a high not too far from 80 on Thursday.
FRIDAY: The next storm system will impact Alabama Friday with showers and thunderstorms statewide. Not exactly a classic severe weather situation, but strong storms are certainly possible, with rain amounts of 1/2 to 1 inch.
COOL WEEKEND: Following the thunderstorms on Friday, much cooler air blows in here over the weekend. We expect the sky to become mostly sunny on Saturday, but the high will be only in the mid 60s with a cool northwest wind. By Sunday morning the low will be near 40, with 30s likely for the colder spots across North and Central Alabama. Sunday will feature bright sunshine with a high in the mid 60s. So, for NASCAR fans getting ready to ride into Talladega for race weekend, you will need jackets for sure this weekend.
See the Weather Xtreme video for long range ideas… looks like a decent storm event potentially around April 23-24.
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. We will record this week’s episode tonight at 8:30 CDT… Our guest tonight will be Rich Foot from Foot’s Forecast. He will be accompanied by a Georgia Tech meteorology major named Daniel Ross who is one of the lead forecasters for the program.
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) |
I will have the next Weather Xtreme video posted by 3:30 or so this afternoon… enjoy the day!
Category: Alabama's Weather
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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
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