James Spann: Alabama stays warm, mostly dry through Sunday
James Spann forecasts warm weather for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
WARM MARCH WEATHER CONTINUES: Alabama’s weather won’t change much through the weekend as a strong upper ridge stays in place over the Gulf Coast region. Look for partly sunny, warm days and fair nights through Sunday. A few isolated showers could show up Friday through Sunday over the Tennessee Valley of far north Alabama, but even there many places will be dry. Afternoon highs will be a good 15 degrees above average for most communities, mostly between 78 and 82 degrees, a pattern more typical of May.
To the west, a major storm system will bring more than 2 feet of snow to parts of Colorado and Wyoming over the weekend, and severe storms are possible over parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.
NEXT WEEK: That storm system will push a band of rain and thunderstorms into Alabama Monday. Models have trended toward higher instability values, meaning strong storms are a possibility. Wind fields will be weakening, however, and for now the Storm Prediction Center does not have any severe weather risk defined for Monday, but we will keep a close eye on the system as it approaches. The weather will be drier Tuesday. Another wave could bring more rain and storms into the state by Wednesday, but model consistency is not very good on this feature.
Temperatures will stay mild next week; highs will be in the 70s Monday through Wednesday, with 60s Thursday and Friday.
ON THIS DATE IN 1888: The Great Blizzard of 1888 paralyzed the east coast from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine on March 11-14. The blizzard dumped as much as 55 inches of snow in some areas, and snowdrifts of 30 to 40 feet were reported. An estimated 400 people died.
ON THIS DATE IN 1963: A series of tornadoes moved across north Alabama, including an F4 in Cullman County that killed two people. Twenty homes and 20 farm buildings were demolished and at least 120 homes and several other structures were damaged. Some of the hardest-hit areas included Phelan, Berlin, Fairview and Holly Pond. An F2 tornado moved through parts of Limestone and Madison counties, killing one person.
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