James Spann: Beautiful spring day for Alabama; storms return Wednesday
James Spann: Beautiful Alabama weather today, storms back in forecast for Wednesday from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
CLEAR SAILING: Today will be a beautiful spring day for Alabama with sunshine in full supply. After a cool start, we expect a high around 70 degrees. Clouds will increase Tuesday ahead of an approaching cold front, and showers are possible over the southern half of the state by afternoon. That front will bring a band of showers and thunderstorms into the state Wednesday.
The Storm Prediction Center has defined a marginal risk (level 1 out of 5) of severe thunderstorms for most of Alabama Wednesday.
Thunderstorms will be capable of producing small hail, strong winds and a brief, isolated tornado or two. While this is not a high-end threat like last Thursday, everyone still needs to be weather aware Wednesday and be in a position to hear warnings if they are needed. The sky will clear Wednesday night as colder, drier air arrives.
Thursday will be a sunny but very cool day for Alabama. The high will be between 52 and 57 degrees over the northern half of the state with a brisk northwest wind.
LATE-SEASON FREEZE AHEAD: Temperatures will drop below freezing Friday morning over the northern and central counties of Alabama. We project a low between 27 and 32 degrees for most places. For colder pockets, temperatures could be below freezing for more than six hours late Thursday night and early Friday morning. This is not unusual for early April. In fact, longtime readers know my advice every year: Don’t plant anything that will be harmed by a freeze until April 15.
The day Friday will be sunny with a high around 60. For the weekend, sunny weather continues Saturday and Sunday with a warming trend. The high will be in the mid 60s Saturday, followed by low 70s Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: The weather looks quiet at least for the first half of the week with a warming trend; we reach the low 80s by midweek. Showers or storms will most likely return by Thursday or Friday.
THURSDAY’S TORNADOES: National Weather Service Birmingham has identified 10 tornadoes from last Thursday’s severe weather event, including an EF-3 that was down for 50.36 miles from near West Blocton in Bibb County to Camp Winnataska in St. Clair County. This is the one that produced extensive damage in places like Helena, Pelham, Eagle Point and Shoal Creek. The Ohatchee-Wellington tornado in Calhoun County was rated EF-2; it was on the ground for 24 miles and was responsible for five fatalities.
ON THIS DATE IN 1942: A slow-moving low-pressure system brought 11.5 inches of snow to the nation’s capital on March 29, 1942. It still stands as the highest March snowfall on record in Washington, D.C., on a single calendar day. Baltimore, Maryland, recorded an imposing total of 21.9 inches of snow on the same day. On the flip side, eight days later, the temperature in D.C. soared to 92 degrees on April 6, 1942, and it remains the highest temperature on record for April 6.
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