James Spann: Alabama much colder today; rain returns this weekend

Published On: 02.02.18 |

By: James Spann

James Spann: Alabama much colder today; rain returns this weekend

James Spann: Cold today, rain this weekend in Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

DIFFERENT KIND OF DAY: Temperatures across Alabama will be about 20 degrees colder than the ones we enjoyed yesterday; despite a good supply of sunshine we won’t get past the mid 40s this afternoon. Some places in the Tennessee Valley won’t get out of the 30s. Tonight will be clear and cold, with temperatures dropping into the 21- to 25-degree range early tomorrow morning.

RAIN RETURNS OVER THE WEEKEND: We will stay dry during the day tomorrow; temperatures rise nicely, reaching the low to mid 50s by afternoon. The day begins with a sunny sky, but clouds will increase during the afternoon, and rain will push into west Alabama late tomorrow night.

The main window for rain over the weekend will come from about midnight tomorrow night through noon Sunday; rain amounts of one-half to 1 inch are likely. There’s no severe weather threat, and probably not much thunder. Clouds will linger through Sunday afternoon; the high Sunday will be in the mid 50s.

NEXT WEEK: Monday will be cool and dry, with a high in the low 50s. Then clouds return Tuesday, followed by more rain Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. The European global model shows a surface low over western Kentucky, with a decent amount of surface-based instability around here and fairly strong wind fields, meaning there could be some risk of strong to severe thunderstorms Tuesday night. But the American model (the GFS) shows a more benign solution; let’s get through the weekend system and we can focus on this one with more confidence.

Thursday and Friday look dry with seasonal temperatures, and there is no sign of any significant snow or ice issues for Alabama for the next seven to 10 days.