Bill Murray has the Alabama forecast for Christmas Eve and the Christmas week ahead from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Skies cleared late Sunday behind a cold front that passed through the area. Northwesterly breezes continued to blow overnight, keeping temperatures from falling close enough to the dewpoint in most areas to cause fog to form. But in areas where it has managed to form and temperatures are at or below 32 degrees, some freezing fog may be present. This could cause slick spots to form on less traveled bridges, so be careful until a while after sunrise.
The National Weather Service in Huntsville has a Special Weather Statement out for patchy dense freezing fog for four counties in the Tennessee Valley.
PLEASANT CHRISTMAS EVE: Today will feature a good supply of sunshine and high temperatures in the lower 50s across the I-20 corridor. There could be some upper 40s in places like Haleyville, Albertville and Gadsden. With just a few clouds tonight, lows will fall into the middle 30s generally.
CHRISTMAS DAY: Tomorrow promises to be a lot like today, except a tad warmer as our winds shift to southerly. High pressure will remain in control of Alabama’s weather, but moisture levels will be rising.
WEDNESDAY: Showers will begin breaking out to the west of Alabama on Tuesday and may affect parts of far northwest Alabama Tuesday and Wednesday. Clouds will begin increasing area-wide and high temperatures will climb into the lower 60s. Rain will start edging into Alabama late Wednesday night, setting the stage for a soaking rain Thursday into early Friday. There could be a little thunder mixed in at times.
RAINFALL AMOUNTS: By the time the rain comes to an end behind a slow-moving cold front on Friday, amounts should average 2-3 inches across central Alabama.
BRIEF BREAK: There could be a break in the rain Friday afternoon and Friday night. But rain should return at times over the weekend.
NEW YEAR’S FORECAST: The Global Forecast System is much more delayed with the rainfall for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day now. This run pretty much erases the chance of severe weather on New Year’s Day. We will continue to monitor things.
MUSIC CITY BOWL WEATHER: Auburn fans should find improving conditions on Friday as they trek to Nashville. Rain should end by morning with some clearing during the day. Temperatures will be falling from the lower 60s into the 50s during the game.
ORANGE BOWL WEATHER: Alabama fans will experience some South Florida winter weather as balmy southeasterly breezes keep South Beach in the 80s by day and near 70 at night, with just a few tropical showers to break up the monotony. It should be mostly dry for the game Saturday evening, although a passing shower can’t be ruled out.
GULF COAST WEATHER: It will be nice through Wednesday along the beautiful beaches of Alabama and northwest Florida. Highs will be in the 60s and lows in the 40s. Rain arrives late Wednesday, like here, and continues until Friday afternoon. Some thunder will be involved, but no severe weather. Rain returns on Saturday with more downpours likely. Weekend highs could flirt with 70 degrees. Water temperatures are around 55. Rip current threats will trend back to high later in the week. But who’s going in the water anyway?
Click here to see the Beach Forecast Center page.
WEATHERBRAINS: This week, the panel will entertain Greg Carbin from the Weather Prediction Center and Rich Thompson from the Storm Prediction Center. They will talk about the weather of 2018 and a little about activities at the place that creates our severe weather watches. Check out the show at http://weatherbrains.com/. You can also subscribe on iTunes. You can watch the show live at live.bigbrainsmedia.
For more weather news and information from James Spann, Bill Murray and other members of the James Spann team, visit AlabamaWx.com.