Cold Nights Ahead
**No afternoon edition of the Weather Xtreme video today due to the NWA annual meeting underway in Birmingham; scroll down for the student video briefing from the Wynfrey**
This is J.B.’s discussion for the afternoon… I am just wrapping up a panel discussion at the NWA and didn’t have time to post one. Thanks to the Great American Weather Legend for filling in!
AUTUMN SHOWING ITS MUSCLE: Finally real autumn has arrived in Alabama. Not just a tease of some cool nights. The cool front (or should we call it a cold front for a change) moved all the way across the state and temperatures early this morning were mostly in the 40s and 50s.
But there is a fly in the ointment. It is in the form of a distinct upper air low-pressure area to our north. Circulation around that will send some little impulses down this way. Bottom line: we will not have sparkling clear weather until later in the weekend. There will be periods of clouds with occasional drizzle and a chance of showers this afternoon, tonight and possibly Thursday. After that, mostly dry weather for the race weekend at Talladega.
A VARIETY OF WEATHER: Alabama weather has undergone some significant changes in the last 24 hours and more changes will occur today and Thursday. The main feature for today will be a significant change to cooler with northwest winds 15 to 25 mph. Some lingering light rain will persist this morning and maybe some patchy drizzle during the afternoon before the clouds finally get out of here. As midnight approached, it was still in the 60s in the Birmingham area but in the upper 40s over the northwest corner of Alabama. We expect colder weather tonight with a low Thursday morning around 38 and the high for the day in the upper 50s or about 60. The sunshine should finally become predominant Thursday. By Friday morning, temperatures should be in the mid 30s with some early morning scattered light frost, mostly in the colder valleys. But at least Friday will give us a full day of sunshine. Humidity will be much lower and high temperatures in the mid 60s.
ALABAMA STATS: Mobile is short on rain for 2011. As of yesterday, they had received 45.64 inches this year, a shortfall of 8.74 inches. At the Shelby County Airport, where the National Weather Service is located, only 36.64 inches this year which is 7 inches below average for this date. At Birmingham Airport so far this year, there has been 38.76 inches of rain which is a deficiency of 3.61.
RACE WEEKEND: The NASCAR folks really don’t like rain, so we can give them a very nice weather situation for Saturday and Sunday. It should be mostly sunshine with chilly early morning temperatures, but afternoon temperatures well into the 60s. Monday and Tuesday should be even warmer with highs in the low to mid 70s.
TOWN HALL MEETING OF THE AIR: An awesome program last night broadcast on the internet and sponsored by Aliant Bank. A large group of behavioral experts, meteorologists and government officials made up the panel and a large audience answered questions with a clicker system. Then it was all discussed. Many questions were built around the use of sirens and terminology that the NWS uses when issuing tornado watches and warnings. Some folks in the audience unfortunately had no longer paid attention to tornado watches or warnings. I think they will now after having that program. I listened to the whole thing and, even though I have been in weather 54 years, I try to keep my brain open to keep learning. The Town Hall Meeting was a part of the National Weather Association Convention being held here. It will continue through Thursday.
TROPICAL WEATHER: The National Hurricane Center is no longer mentioning the low-pressure system near the Yucatan and Southeast Gulf of Mexico. Their outlook now is for no tropical cyclone formation for at least the next two days. That slow-moving storm system ended up partially being responsible for a tornado watch in South Florida yesterday afternoon. There has also been a lot of heavy rain. Palm Beach got 2.49 inches yesterday.
USA NOTES: The hottest in the country yesterday was 101 at Thermal, California and the coldest was 16 at Center, Colorado. There was a huge dust storm at Springlake, Texas yesterday. So vicious that it cut visibility down to near zero in places.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 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.
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
Look for the next Weather Xtreme video and discussion here early 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
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