New Surge Of Cold Air Arrives Tomorrow

An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

THIS AFTERNOON: Tons o’ sun across Alabama this afternoon. Temperatures are still below average (the average high for December 11 is 57)… readings are generally between 49 and 54 degrees at mid-afternoon.

To the north, a new surge of very cold air is driving southward through the Midwest; Fosston, MN at 2pm CT reports -11 (F) with a wind chill index of -33 (F). Thankfully we won’t catch the full force of this airmass, but it will drop highs back into the 40s tomorrow despite a sunny sky.

Friday will be warmer, with a partly sunny sky and a high in the low to mid 50s. Clouds increase late Friday ahead of the next short wave, and rain could reach West Alabama after midnight Friday night.

WET SATURDAY: No real change in our thinking for the weekend. A broad low, supported by an upper trough, will pass right over Alabama Saturday. This means a wet day; we still looking at the main 12 hour window for rain from about 3:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Some rain could linger into the late afternoon hours, especially south and east of Birmingham.

Rain amounts of 1/2 to one inch are likely, and while some thunder is possible, severe weather won’t happen with hardly any surface based instability. Saturday’s high should be in the mid to upper 50s as the rain falls.

COLDER SUNDAY: Sunday will be dry, but windy and colder. The sky becomes partly to mostly sunny, and we will have a hard time getting past the mid 40s with strong cold air advection. Look for a low well down in the 20s by early Monday.

NEXT WEEK: The weather looks dry at least for the first half of the week with temperatures near average values for mid-December; highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s.

CHRISTMAS COLD? The 12Z runs of the GFS and the ECMWF are showing the Arctic Express open for much of the continental U.S. around Christmastime. The general idea is that we have a wet period just before Christmas, followed by a blast of very cold air. Way too early to be specific; long time readers know there is little skill in a specific forecast beyond seven days, but the pattern does seem to support another big cold blast late in the month.

See the Weather Xtreme video for the maps, graphics, and details.

WHITE CHRISTMAS: I have been around here for a long, long time, and for the first time in my life I saw snow flakes on Christmas Day on December 25, 2010. That is a very rare event for Alabama; some places saw their first measurable snow on Christmas Day on record, and many of our records go back into the 1880s.

What is our historical chance of seeing snow on Christmas Day? Very small….

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.

CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…

Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Instagram

Had a great time today visiting with the 3rd graders at Walter Kennedy Elementary School in Pell City… be looking for them on the Pepsi KIDCAM today at 6:00 on ABC 33/40 News! I will be out at the Walmart on Highway 150 in Hoover for a Toys for Tots event; live there on ABC 33/40 at 5:00 and 6:00. Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow….

Tags: colder

Category: Alabama's Weather