A Soaker To Start The Weekend
**No afternoon Weather Xtreme video today due to travel**
SPRING-LIKE: Temperatures are generally in the 66 to 71 degree range across the northern half of Alabama this afternoon with a partly sunny sky. We stay dry tonight and tomorrow… the high tomorrow should be in the mid 60s with a partly sunny sky, although clouds will increase during the afternoon.
SATURDAY SOAKER: A deep surface low is forecast to form along the upper Texas coast tomorrow night… moving up into Alabama by Saturday night. We note the 12Z NAM is a little farther to the north with this surface low, and the actual track will determine the severe weather threat.
SPC has the southern half of Alabama in their standard “slight risk” of severe weather Saturday… with higher 30 percent severe weather probabilities…
Below is the NAM surface prog valid at 6:00 a.m. local time Sunday…
You can see the low on this run is forecast to be near Gadsden… which suggests we might see severe weather as far north as I-59. Still, the best parameters for the most significant severe weather will be over South Alabama. A few isolated tornadoes will be possible over the southern counties of the state with a good combination of shear and instability.
TIMING: The rain should move into Alabama Saturday morning, with a soaking rain much of the day into Saturday night. Rain amounts of 1 to 2 inches are likely, with some spots to the south going over two inches. The rain will end early Sunday morning, and the sky should become partly sunny by Sunday afternoon as cooler and drier moves into the state.
NEXT WEEK: Still looks like the next round of showers and storms will come Wednesday, after dry weather Monday and Tuesday.
STORM ALERT 2012: Our annual severe weather awareness tour across Alabama comes to Pleasant Grove High School tonight; we will show some very powerful stories from the generational tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011, including a look at the EF-4 tornado that did so much damage in Pleasant Grove and Concord. This is the Birmingham metro show, so we expect a big crowd. We kick things off at 6:30… be sure and get there early for a good seat.
CENTER POINT TOWN HALL: We will be doing a special town hall meeting at Center Point High School Sunday evening at 5:00 on the severe weather warning process in Alabama. We encourage you to come out and learn more about how the warning system worked during the early morning hours of January 23 when an EF-3 tornado tore through Center Point and Clay, killing one person. This event will be carried live on ABC 33/40, and the question and answer session will be streamed live.
CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…
I had a great time today visiting first graders at Odenville Elementary in St. Clair County and Crestline Elementary in Mountain Brook. 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
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