James Spann: Rain ends in Alabama later today; mostly sunny Saturday
James Spann has the Alabama forecast for Friday and the weekend ahead from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
RADAR CHECK: Rain is widespread across the southern two-thirds of Alabama early this morning. We have a dense fog advisory for the Tennessee Valley of far north Alabama, where visibility is highly restricted. The rain will slowly end from north to south during the day, and some sun is possible over north Alabama by late afternoon as drier air pushes into the state. The high today will be in the 50s over north Alabama, with temperatures well into the 60s to the south. The sky becomes mostly fair statewide tonight.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will be mostly sunny with a high between 55 and 60 degrees, but clouds return Saturday night. Sunday will be generally dry but mostly cloudy. A few showers are possible late Sunday afternoon over the northwest part of the state; the high will be in the low to mid 60s.
NEXT WEEK: Rain returns Monday as a surface low develops northwest of the state. Unstable air moves northward, but the latest global model data suggests the main dynamic support will be weakening as the system approaches Alabama. So, for now, the risk of severe storms looks low. But a few strong thunderstorms are certainly possible during the afternoon. Monday’s temperatures will be very mild, with a high in the low 70s; it will be our warmest day so far in 2021.
The daytime Tuesday will be dry, but another feature will bring the risk of some rain to the state Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. The rest of the week will be rain-free with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s. There’s still no sign of any bitterly cold Arctic air for Alabama and the Deep South for the next 10-15 days.
ON THIS DATE IN 1904: An unusual estimated F4 tornado leveled the northern part of Moundville, in Hale County, just after midnight, killing 37 people. The tornado reportedly had a phosphorescent glow. Luckily, a northbound train pulled into Moundville very soon after the tornado occurred. The engineer, seeing what had happened, put his locomotive in reverse and raced all the way backward to Akron, where he sent a telegraph message to Tuscaloosa appealing for help. Doctors from Moundville, Tuscaloosa and Birmingham worked for two days treating the injured in temporary hospitals that were set up on Dr. Griffin’s back porch and at the Elliott store. That was the only store left standing. A newspaper reporter from Birmingham traveled by train to write about the tornado. An infant was snatched from its crib in the lower part of town and hurled through the air. It was airborne as it passed over the demolished stores. It was deposited uninjured in an old cotton field more than 100 yards away.
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