James Spann: Rain on the way for Alabama; dry weekend ahead
James Spann forecasts some rain for Alabama tonight and Friday from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
CLOUDS MOVING IN: An upper low, now over Oklahoma, will push clouds into Alabama today as moisture levels rise. Most of the state will still be dry, however, with highs in the mid 50s. A few patches of light rain could reach the western counties this afternoon, but most of the rain comes late tonight and Friday. Rain amounts of around one-half inch are likely, and while there could be a rumble of thunder in a few spots, no severe storms are expected across Alabama. Temperatures will hold in the 50s Friday, and the rain will end from west to east during the mid to late afternoon.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Dry air returns and the weather will be very quiet, with partly to mostly sunny days and fair nights. Highs will be in the mid 50s; the low early Sunday will be between 31 and 36 degrees.
NEXT WEEK: Very uneventful weather continues through the week. A clipper-type system will pull down some colder air Monday; the high will be close to 50, and we will be a bit below freezing by daybreak Tuesday. Then the high will rise to near 60 over the latter half of the week, with mostly sunny days and fair nights. The next rain producer is most likely seven to 10 days away.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: Saturday Auburn will host Texas A&M at Jordan-Hare Stadium (11 a.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly sunny with temperatures rising from near 50 at kickoff into the mid 50s by the final whistle.
Saturday night, Alabama will travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU (kickoff at 7); the sky will be clear with temperatures falling from 52 at kickoff into the upper 40s by the fourth quarter.
ON THIS DATE IN 1983: The Iron Bowl was played at Legion Field on Dec. 3, 1983, Ray Perkins’ first Iron Bowl after succeeding Alabama Head Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. The game started in beautiful, warm sunshine after a stormy night of very heavy rains that caused severe flooding in the Birmingham area with 9.22 inches of rain falling at the National Weather Service Forecast Office, which was on Oxmoor Road at the time. In the second half, a line of severe thunderstorms approached western Jefferson County and a tornado warning was issued. The radar at Centreville showed a well-defined hook echo heading directly toward the stadium. The game was not stopped. By 10 minutes to go in the game, the rain was coming down in torrents as Auburn tried to control the ball and win the game in horrible conditions, clinging to a 23-20 lead. The rain began to fall so heavily that you could barely see the field on the cameras.
Fortunately, the storm did not produce a tornado in western Birmingham, or the results would have been catastrophic. Later, the same storm dropped an F-3 tornado that heavily damaged the Winn-Dixie store and Sky City at Oxford’s Blue Pond shopping center, killing two people. A total of seven tornadoes touched down across the state that afternoon and evening.
Auburn went on to win the game 23-20; Bo Jackson gained 256 yards rushing.
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