Strong/Severe Storms Late Tomorrow Night
**No afternoon Weather Xtreme video today; we are on a holiday schedule through New Years, so just one video per day**
WATCHING DEVELOPMENTS TO THE WEST: A major storm system will lift out of the southwest U.S. over the next 48 hours, producing lots of inclement weather for the continental U.S.
A very messy weather pattern is setting up, with snow and ice issues in the cold air sector of the storm system, with heavy rain and strong storms in the warm sector.
We note an ice storm warning has been posted for parts of Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City.
SEVERE WEATHER THREAT: The Storm Prediction Center maintains a “moderate risk” of severe weather tomorrow for areas west of Alabama, including parts of Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and West Tennessee…
In Alabama, we have the standard “slight risk” up for late tomorrow night. The outlook extends through Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m. CT.
Clearly, the most significant severe weather threat will be west of Alabama, where storms around the Mississippi Delta region could produce damaging winds and a few tornadoes.
THE ALABAMA SITUATION: The main band of thunderstorms should enter Northwest Alabama in the 10:00 p.m. to midnight time frame…. then passing steadily southeast during the pre-dawn hours Sunday.
This is model output from the high resolution NAM valid at 10:00 tomorrow night, showing the storms moving into the northwest corner of the state.
The greatest threat will come from strong winds gusts within the line of storms; the low level jet (at 5,000 feet) is expected to reach 60 knots, and it won’t take much to bring that down to the surface. Storms could knock down trees and power lines in a few spots as they move through.
There is a decent degree of low level shear, so a few isolated, short lived tornadoes will be possible as well.
It is likely that severe weather watches and warnings will be required late tomorrow night into the early morning hours Sunday, and with this coming during the “middle of the night”, be sure your NOAA Weather Radio is on and in good working condition. And, check your smart phone apps to be sure they are programmed correctly so you won’t miss any warnings.
The storms will end Sunday morning.
CHRISTMAS WEEK: Still looks dry Monday through Thursday with cool days and cold nights. Looks like we won’t get past the mid 40s Tuesday, and the low Christmas morning will be well down in the 20s. The high Wednesday afternoon will be around 50 degrees.
Stay tuned to the blog over the weekend for frequent updates on the Alabama weather situation.
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.
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Brian Peters will have the next Weather Xtreme video here by 8:00 a.m. tomorrow…
Category: Alabama's Weather
About the Author (Author Profile)
James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.Subscribe
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