James Spann: Wet, stormy in Alabama today; much colder by Christmas

Published On: 12.20.17 |

By: James Spann

James Spann: Wet, stormy in Alabama today; much colder by Christmas

James Spann: Heavy rain, maybe a few strong storms for Alabama today from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

SOAKING RAINS: A flash flood watch remains in effect for the Tennessee Valley of North Alabama this morning; radar shows widespread, soaking rain in most areas north of I-20. The rain will slowly expand southward today, and with some surface-based instability involved, we could see a few strong thunderstorms later this morning. The Storm Prediction Center maintains a marginal risk of severe storms for much of Central Alabama.

The overall threat looks fairly low, but a few storms could produce strong, gusty winds. The tornado threat is also very low, but not zero. Rain will taper off this afternoon as the upper trough shifts eastward. Today will be very mild for December, with a high in the low 70s.

TOMORROW/FRIDAY: Tomorrow will be dry and mild; with a mix of sun and clouds we project a high in the 65- to 70-degree range. And it now looks like a decent part of the day Friday will be dry with a high not far from 70 degrees, but the sky will be mostly cloudy, and rain will likely return Friday night ahead of a sharp cold front. Some thunder is possible Friday night, but for now severe storms are not expected.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will be a wet, cooler day with periods of rain. Temperatures will hold in the 50s most of the day, and some North Alabama communities could drop into the 40s by mid to late afternoon as cold air advection begins. Then, on Sunday, the sky becomes partly sunny with a high in the 40s, along with a cool north breeze.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: The annual Birmingham Bowl is Saturday; Texas Tech vs. South Florida. The game kicks off at 11 a.m. at Legion Field. The sky will be cloudy with rain likely during the game; temperatures will be in the 50s. Not exactly “Chamber of Commerce” weather, but on the positive side there is no severe weather risk, and I doubt if any thunderstorms will be involved.

CHRISTMAS DAY: Monday will be cold and dry with a good supply of sunshine; we start the day in the 20s, and the high will be between 40 and 45 degrees.

REST OF NEXT WEEK: Dry weather continues Tuesday through Thursday with sunny, cool days and fair, cold nights; highs will be mostly in the 40s and lows in the 25- to 32-degree range. Clouds return late in the week, and a storm system will bring rain back to the state at some point the following weekend (Dec. 30-31).