James Spann: Nice warm-up for Alabama today

Published On: 01.31.18 |

By: James Spann

James Spann: Nice warm-up for Alabama today

James Spann: Alabama stays dry today; rain returns late tomorrow from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

COLD MORNING: Most places are in the 20s across north and central Alabama early this morning, but we note our Skywatcher at Black Creek, just northeast of Gadsden, reported 19 degrees just before daybreak. With a strong January sun, we warm up nicely today; temperatures should reach the upper 50s this afternoon. Clouds will increase late tonight.

TOMORROW/FRIDAY: Tomorrow will be a fairly mild day for early February with a high close to 60 degrees. The sky will be mostly cloudy, and some light rain is likely late tomorrow and tomorrow night. Moisture will be pretty limited, and amounts should be less than one-half inch. The main window for rain comes from about 4 tomorrow afternoon through 3 a.m. Friday. I doubt if we hear any thunder.

Friday will be colder; we won’t get past the mid 40s despite a partly to mostly sunny sky.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will be partly sunny and dry. The day begins with an early morning low down in the mid 20s, followed by a high near 50 degrees. Clouds thicken Saturday night, and Sunday looks wet with rain much of the day. The rain on Sunday could be pretty beneficial; the latest guidance suggests one-half to 1 inch. Temperatures won’t rise above the low 50s Sunday during the rain, so it will be a cool, stable air mass and thunder is unlikely. The rain will end from northwest to southwest Sunday night.

NEXT WEEK: Dry air will cover Alabama Monday and Tuesday. Monday will be colder, with a high in the 40s; then we return to the 50s Tuesday. Clouds increase Tuesday night, and we will bring in a chance of rain Wednesday ahead of the next cold front. Dry air returns Thursday and Friday.

Still no sign of any significant snow or ice issues for north and central Alabama for the next seven to 10 days.

And no evidence of any long-lasting period of bitterly cold Arctic air through mid-February. We will see just a glancing blow of colder air from time to time.