Still Wet; Rain Ends Early Tomorrow

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RADAR CHECK: At daybreak, the rain has ended temporarily along and west of I-59, but moderate rain continues in a broad band from Camden to Rockford to Roanoke.

More rain will develop under the southwest flow aloft over Alabama later, and we will forecast periods of mostly light rain through tonight. Rain won’t be as heavy, generally speaking, as yesterday, and I don’t expect any thunder or lightning. NEXRAD data suggests we had some 4 to 5 inch rain totals yesterday over parts of Bibb, Shelby, and Talladega Counties.

BIG TEMPERATURE CONTRAST AGAIN: A warm front was over Central Alabama with another big thermal contrast; at 5:00 Haleyville reported 38 degrees, but south of the front Montgomery was reporting a balmy 70 degrees. The front will have a hard time moving northward, and we figure most places north of Birmingham won’t make it past the upper 40s today, but down in South Alabama the high will be in the 70s. Your high today will simply depend on your latitude.

LATE TONIGHT: Will be another close call for the northwest tip of the state as temperatures will drop to near the freezing mark after midnight, but it looks like the bulk of the rain will be over by the time that happens. Just an outside risk of a little bridge icing over far Northwest Alabama early tomorrow.

COLDER TOMORROW: The rain will end in the 4-7 a.m. time frame for most places. But, the clearing will be slow. I figure the clouds will hang tough much of the day, and the weather will be windy and cold with a high only in the 39-43 degree range. The sun might try and break through late in the day.

FINALLY, SOME BRIGHTER WEATHER: The sun makes a return visit across Alabama Wednesday and Thursday. Mornings will be cold with lows down in the mid 20s, but we should reach the low to mid 50s Wednesday afternoon with a good supply of sunshine. Thursday should be a bit colder with a high in the upper 40s.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Clouds will return late in the day Friday, and we will deal with more rain late Friday night and Saturday as the weekend begins. The ECMWF is the faster model, and I believe it has the right idea, suggesting the main rain event will come from around 9:00 p.m. Friday through 9:00 a.m. Saturday. The GFS keeps the rain going through Saturday afternoon. Rain amounts of around 1/2 inch are likely with this short wave.

Both models show returning sunshine on Sunday with a high in the low to mid 50s.

THE LAND OF VOODOO: Our medium range models carry us all the way to Christmas Eve, and for now there are no signs of any winter weather mischief around here. See the Weather Xtreme video for the maps, graphics, and details.

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. Tonight’s Guest WeatherBrain is Lourdes Aviles, an Associate Professor at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH. She is the author of Taken by Storm, a Social and Meteorological History of the Great New England Hurricane of 1938. The show begins at 8:30p CT, and you can watch it on “James Spann 24/7” on cable systems around the state, or on the web here.

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I have a weather program this morning at Alex City Middle School in Tallapoosa County… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

Tags: wet

Category: Alabama's Weather