James Spann: Alabama stays dry today; light rain at times on Wednesday

James Spann has a dry-wet-dry-wet forecast for Alabama this week from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
MOSTLY SUNNY: A dry air mass covers Alabama this morning; temperatures have dropped below freezing in some north Alabama communities with a clear sky and light wind. We are seeing upper 20s in places like Haleyville, Gadsden and Fort Payne. A dense fog advisory is in effect again this morning for roughly the southern half of the state; that fog will dissipate by mid-morning.
With a good supply of sunshine temperatures will rise into the upper 50s this afternoon; 60s are likely over south Alabama. Clouds increase tonight ahead of the next wave to the west.
REST OF THE WEEK: Wednesday will be cloudy and cool with periods of mostly light rain; the air will be cool and stable and there won’t be any thunder over the northern half of the state. Then, we will enjoy a dry day Thursday before more rain arrives Friday. It won’t be an “all day” rain and amounts should be light. Rain totals between Wednesday and Friday should be around one-half inch for the northern half of the state, with one-half to 1 inch over the southern counties. Highs will be mostly in the 50s for north Alabama, with 60s to the south.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: The weather looks dry Saturday and Sunday; the sky will be partly to mostly sunny both days. Saturday’s high will be in the mid 50s, followed by low 60s Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: The week begins with dry weather Monday and Tuesday; afternoon temperatures will be pleasant, with highs in the 60s. Then, the next weather system brings rain back into the state Wednesday. There’s still no sign of any bitterly cold Arctic air for the Deep South through the next seven to 10 days.
ON THIS DATE IN 2014: “Snowmageddon” crippled much of north and central Alabama for several days. It was only about 1 to 2 inches of snow, but temperatures were in the 17- to 22-degree range as it fell. After the snow initially melted because of warm soil temperatures, we had a “flash freeze,” putting down a base of ice on all roads. The 1-2 inches of snow basically produced travel conditions you would expect from a crippling ice storm (a long duration of freezing rain). Travel went from difficult to impossible; cars were left in the middle of highways as people changed from a “get home” mindset to a “survive” mindset. Thousands of kids were stranded in schools, countless adults spent the night in their offices and some spent more than 20 hours stuck in their vehicles on interstate highways. Families were separated, and this developed into a full-blown civil emergency, a humanitarian disaster. A Civil Emergency Message was issued by the National Weather Service at the request of EMA at 11:27 a.m.
STORM SPOTTER TRAINING: Our annual storm spotter training is Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Hoover Met. It begins at 9:30 and there is no cost. We will offer both the basic and advanced training sessions; we expect to wrap up by 2:30. No need to register; just show up with a curious mind. We need more trained storm spotters. Help us make the warning process better.
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