James Spann: Cool, dry weather continues for Alabama

Published On: 04.15.20 |

By: James Spann

James Spann: Cool, dry weather continues for Alabama

James Spann has the midweek forecast for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

COLD MORNING: Here are some temperatures just before sunrise across Alabama:

Meridianville — 33
Cullman — 34
Decatur — 34
Haleyville — 34
Huntsville — 35
Weaver — 37
Hueytown — 37
Birmingham — 38
Gadsden — 39
Muscle Shoals — 39
Heflin — 39
Anniston — 41
Tuscaloosa — 42

Today will be sunny with a high between 60 and 64; the average high for Birmingham on April 15 is 74. Tonight will be clear and cold again; lows will range from 35 to 43, and colder pockets will have the risk of frost again. The good news is that for just about everyone in the state Thursday morning will be the last frost until sometime in October.

Thursday will be another sunny day with a high in the low 70s.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: The weather Friday will stay dry; with a partly sunny sky look for a high in the mid 70s. Clouds move in Friday night ahead of a cold front, and some rain seems likely overnight. The main window comes from midnight Friday night until 6 a.m. Saturday; amounts should be one-quarter inch or less, and there won’t be any thunder. Most of you will sleep through it.

During the day Saturday, the sky becomes partly to mostly sunny with a high between 67 and 70. Clouds increase Saturday night as the front near the Gulf Coast begins to lift slowly northward, and periods of rain are likely Sunday afternoon and Sunday night. Thunderstorms are possible over the southern half of Alabama, but for now the severe weather risk looks low. Sunday’s high will stay in the upper 60s.

NEXT WEEK: Monday and Tuesday look dry and mild; then global models indicate a dynamic weather system for Wednesday night and Thursday that will bring some potential for strong, possibly severe thunderstorms to Alabama. It’s way too early to be specific; just something to watch for now.

ON THIS DATE IN 2011: The “forgotten” tornado outbreak. One of the large EF-3 tornadoes to strike central Alabama on that day created a swath of damage from northeastern Greene County, just southeast of the community of Ralph, to just south of Veterans Memorial Parkway, east of Tuscaloosa in south-central Tuscaloosa County. Winds with this monster were estimated at 140 mph, mainly uprooting and snapping trees. A few homes and businesses received damage as the twister moved north of Shelton State Community College, crossed Alabama Highway 69 near Taylorville and crossed I-20/59 near Alabama Highway 82.

Throughout the day, 45 tornado warnings and 19 severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for central Alabama. Of the 29 confirmed tornadoes, the total damage path length was more than 244 miles, with 10 of those tornadoes having damage paths more than 10 miles long. The event was forgotten by many because of what would happen 12 days later, on April 27, 2011, when a generational tornado outbreak would kill 252 people in our state.