Showers, Then A Cold Air Blast

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VERY ACTIVE WEATHER: Our weather over the next 7 days will feature many changes; one of those complicated forecasts like a weather smorgasbord. Check out the Weather Xtreme video for a really good briefing along with the maps and graphics and go with this discussion. Let’s dive into it…

TODAY/TONIGHT: It will be very mild today; the high will be in the 66 to 70 degree range, above the average high of 62 degrees for November 22. The sky will be mostly cloudy with the chance of showers. Most of the showers today and tonight will be along and north of I-20, and the rain shouldn’t be especially heavy.

NORTHWEST OF ALABAMA: A brutally cold airmass for November is moving southward. Alliance, Nebraska at daybreak reports 15 degrees below zero, with a wind chill index of 35 below zero.

COLD AIR ARRIVES TOMORROW AFTERNOON: Showers remain possible across Alabama tomorrow; it won’t rain all day, but it could rain at any time, with the main window for rain ending around 3-4 p.m. And, as the showers end, the weather turns windy and sharply colder. We will be in the 50s tomorrow morning, but temperatures will fall into the 40s by mid to late afternoon, with north winds increasing to 15-25 mph. The sky will clear tomorrow night as the cold air deepens.

We drop down into the mid 20s early Sunday, and strong northeast winds will continue, pushing wind chill index values down into the 8-15 degree range over North Alabama. The good news is that the sun will be out in full force Sunday, but the day will be windy and cold with a high only in the mid 40s. The strong northeast wind will make it feel colder.

Sunday night will be cold; we expect a low well down in the 20s again early Monday morning, with teens for the colder valleys across North Alabama.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Showers are a possibility for tonight’s high school football playoff games with a cloudy sky and temperatures in the 50s. Higher chance of rain for the games will be north of Birmingham, especially north of U.S. 278.

Saturday, Alabama hosts UT-Chattanooga at Bryant-Denny Stadium (1:00p CT kickoff); the afternoon will be cloudy and windy with temperatures falling from the mid 50s at kickoff into the upper 40s during the fourth quarter. North winds will increase to 12-25 mph late in the game. Some light rain is possible, especially during the first half.

PRE-THANKSGIVING STORM: Clouds will increase during the day Monday ahead of a developing wave on the Arctic front in the Northwest Gulf of Mexico.

SNOW FLAKES OVER FAR NORTH ALABAMA? Precipitation will break out Monday night, and with the evaporative cooling process we have a real possibility of some light snow over parts of extreme North Mississippi and Alabama, up into southern Tennessee as this event begins. Temperatures at the surface will be well above freezing, and for now we don’t expect this to pose any problems. If light snow does develop, it could be in places like Muscle Shoals and Athens. And, it would change to rain pretty quickly Monday night. But this is something we will watch closely over the weekend.

TUESDAY SOAKER: A surface low will be just south of Mobile Tuesday, and a soaking rain is likely for all of Alabama. Up this way, it will rain most of the day, with amounts of 1 to 2 inches likely. East winds will average 10-20 mph, and we won’t get out of the 40s. It will be a pretty miserable day. Some parts of South Alabama could see over two inches of rain.

WEDNESDAY: The storm departs off to the east Wednesday, but clouds and lingering light rain will continue across Alabama. And, as cold air drops south, the GFS hints at a narrow band of light snow over far North Alabama before the precipitation ends. Thickness values are pretty marginal, and for now we won’t worry too much about it. Better chance of accumulating snow Wednesday will be up around the Great Smoky Mountains.

TRAVEL: The Thanksgiving Eve storm will bring lots of wind and rain to the entire eastern third of the U.S., and it will also bring potential for a big snow for the interior parts of New England. Major airport delays are possible for Washington/Baltimore/Philadelphia/New York City/Boston.

Take some time to watch the Weather Xtreme video for a detailed briefing along with all the maps and graphics.

The weather in Alabama will be cool and dry on Thanksgiving Day; we begin the day in the 20s, and the high will be close to 50 degrees with a sunny sky. “Black Friday” will be sunny and cool as well.

IRON BOWL: At this early stage of the game, we expect a partly sunny sky in Auburn on Saturday November 30 with temperatures possibly reaching 60 degrees during the game. A few storm system is off to the west, but for now it looks like that rain holds off until Sunday December 1.

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I will be doing a weather program this morning at Oliver Elementary in Birmingham… and then I rapel down the One Federal Place building in downtown Birmingham to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis research. Want to help? Go here.

Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon… enjoy the day!

Tags: showers

Category: Alabama's Weather