James Spann: Quiet weather week ahead for Alabama

Published On: 12.11.17 |

By: James Spann

James Spann: Quiet weather week ahead for Alabama

James Spann: Alabama stays dry through Friday from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

COLD START: Temperatures are below freezing over the northern half of Alabama early this morning; colder values are over east Alabama, where many spots are in the mid 20s. We warm nicely today with a sunny sky; the high should be in the mid 50s. The average high for Birmingham on Dec. 11 is 57.

REST OF THE WEEK: A clipper will pass north of Alabama tonight and pull down slightly cooler air into the Deep South. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high in the upper 40s, almost 10 degrees below average for mid-December. The weather stays dry for the rest of the week with mostly sunny days and fair nights; the high Wednesday will be near 50, followed by mid 50s Thursday. Another clipper brings down cooler air at the end of the week, dropping the high Friday back into the upper 40s.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday looks like a very pleasant day with ample sunshine; after a cold start down in the 20s, we warm nicely with a high close to 60 degrees. Clouds increase Sunday ahead of a cold front, and we will mention a chance of rain, possibly a thunderstorm late in the day and into Sunday night. We do note, however, that the European model (ECMWF) is much drier than the Global Forecast System with little, if any, rain with the front, bringing forecast confidence down a bit. The high Sunday will be in the 57- to 60-degree range.

NEXT WEEK: Any lingering showers should end early Monday, followed by a clearing sky along with a high in the 50s. The weather will be dry through midweek with seasonal temperatures.

VOODOO LAND: Three of the 20 GFS ensemble members show some hope of a little snow at Christmas, but, of course, that means 17 members show nothing. It’s too early to know, and the statistical probability of a “White Christmas” here is less than 1 percent based on climatology, so don’t get your hopes up.