A Few Showers By Saturday

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Mild and breezy weather headlines our forecast through tomorrow with a mix of sun and clouds and a high in the mid 70s. Showers and storms will remain north of Alabama, in the general area from Springfield, Missouri to Philadelphia, along a nearly stationary front.

That front will drift down into Alabama on Saturday, when a few showers and possibly a thunderstorm are likely around here. As we have discussed all week, this won’t be a wash-out; no severe weather, and no really heavy rain. Just a few passing showers, and most folks won’t see over a quarter inch of rain with little upper air support for the front.

WEDGE SUNDAY: The GFS show a classic CAD look for Sunday; cooler air will drain down the east slopes of the Appalachian mountains, moving into East Alabama during the day. This should mean a significant temperature spread across the state Sunday; folks near the Mississippi border should see a high near 70, while communities near the Georgia border will be closer to 60. The chance of significant rain Sunday looks small as the front washes out, but we will hang on to at least a chance of a lingering shower somewhere.

NEXT WEEK: Very little model consistency in our two systems next week… almost every run looks different. We will have a chance of showers and storms Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night, and then again at the end of the week, Thursday night into Friday. Hopefully one of those two will bring some beneficial rain (maybe both!), but lets get some better run to run consistency before we get too specific.

TIME TO PLANT? We are now past the average date of the last freeze, March 23. However, we can have cold snaps deep into April, so there is no way to guarantee that we have seen our last freeze. Having said that, we see no chance of frost during the next seven days.

ON THIS DATE IN 1994: Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes impacted the Southeast U.S. on Palm Sunday. Forty-two people were killed in the outbreak and 320 were injured. A total of 26 tornadoes ripped through Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, causing $107 million in damage. The most significant tornado of the day first touched down near Ragland, in St. Clair County. It moved northeast, into Calhoun and southern Cherokee County, striking the Goshen United Methodist Church during their morning worship service. A total of 20 people died in the church; most of them were participating in an Easter drama that was going on at the time the tornado destroyed the church building. The daughter of the church minister, four year old Hannah Clem, was among those killed.

Perhaps the most tragic part of the story was that a tornado warning was issued for southern Cherokee County at 11:27 a.m.; exactly 12 minutes before the building was destroyed at 11:39. But, those in the church never heard the warning. A storm survey by Tim Marshall showed that an interior hallway in the church could have provided adequate shelter for all 150 occupants had they sought shelter there. Another reminder of the importance of having a NOAA Weather Radio at every church in Alabama.

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.

Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 this afternoon…. enjoy the day!

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