No Dull Moments Here Anytime Soon

An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes…

STORM ALERT 2008 HAS ENDED: First off, let me thank everyone for coming out to the final Storm Alert 2008 show last night in Moody. A huge crowd, and we enjoyed meeting everyone. We have met thousands of folks along the road this year, and Bill Castle as always did a masterful job in putting all of the video elements together. Thanks also to Matthew Seals for sharing his story; he is a survivor of the April 8, 1998 F5 tornado that killed 32 people in Jefferson County April 8, 1998.

There is no sign of the active wave train slowing down anytime soon, which means the spring tornado season could be our most active in many years. Now is the time to be ready. You know what we are going to say… forget the sirens, get a NOAA Weather Radio (and be sure it is programmed correctly!), and have a plan for your family for any hour of the day or night.

RIGHT NOW: Cold is the word. Still see some light snow on the radar east of I-65; all of that should end within the next few hours, and we will forecast a clearing sky with sunshine returning this afternoon for most places. The clouds, however, could hang tough over the northeast part of the state through much of the day. We will struggle to reach the low 40s this afternoon, and the icy northwest wind will continue. At 5:00, Birmingham reports 29 degrees, a northwest wind gusting to 20 mph, and a wind chill index of 20.

REST OF THE WEEK AND THE WEEKEND: We begin to warm up tomorrow; afternoon temperatures should reach the low to mid 50s with a good supply of sunshine. On Friday, clouds will begin to increase, and we will mention a chance of showers late Friday afternoon and Friday night with a cold front passing through the state. This front won’t have much upper air support, and moisture will be limited, so rain totals should be a quarter inch of less for most spots. Looks like most of the showers will come from around 3:00 p.m. Friday through 3:00 a.m. Saturday.

The weekend looks very nice with a partly to mostly sunny sky and a high in the 60s both days.

SEVERE STORMS EARLY NEXT WEEK? A major storm system will impact Alabama early next week; SPC has all of Alabama in a severe weather risk for Monday afternoon and Monday night. A strong cold front will move through with excellent upper air support. It is way too early to be specific on this system, in terms of the main threats or the timing, but it will need to be watched closely in coming days. Then, on Tuesday, a deep cold core upper low is forecast to form somewhere over the Southeast U.S. We have seen some runs that put this feature right on top of Alabama; if that is the case Tuesday will be cold and unsettled with a chance of rain or snow showers. The 06Z GFS, however, develops this cold core closer to Jacksonville, Florida, with all of the associated weather east of Alabama.

VOODOO LAND: Watch the Weather Xtreme video and see what the GFS look like on March 7. That might make you slap your mamma… but voodoo is the word. The wave train continues unabated into late March with lots of interesting ideas on the table.

SPECIAL ABC 33/40 NOAA WEATHER RADIO OFFER: You can purchase a top of the line Midland NOAA Weather Radio at any Handy TV location in this part of Alabama for only $29.95. These receivers have the new digital technology that allows you to choose the counties for which the alarm sounds. Get more information here.

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. You can even listen here on the blog; look for the player on the top left.

I had a great time speaking to the 6th grade yesterday up at Haleyville Elementary… be looking for those kids today on the KIDCAM at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 News. This morning I will be judging some kind of biscuit contest with my pals Rick and Bubba at the Riverchase Galleria… something tells me this will be a wild event. The next Weather Xtreme video will be posted here by 3:30 this afternoon!

Category: Uncategorized