James Spann: Drier air drops into north, central Alabama today
James Spann forecasts a chance to dry out for much of Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
RADAR CHECK: Showers and storms are confined to far south Alabama and the Florida Panhandle early this morning, where a Flash Flood Watch remains in effect. The northern two-thirds of the state is getting a break from the rain as drier air has arrived. For north and central Alabama, we expect morning clouds to give way to a partly sunny afternoon. The high today will be in the mid 70s for most places. The average high for Birmingham on May 5 is 80.
Thursday will be dry during the day; with a good supply of sunshine the high will be back in the mid 70s. Then a secondary cold front will push into the state Thursday night. This front could squeeze out a few scattered showers over north Alabama, but moisture will be limited and rain amounts will be very light and spotty.
Friday will be sunny and cool for early May, with a high only in the 68- to 72-degree range.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will be another mostly sunny day with a high around 80 degrees. Clouds will begin to increase Sunday, and showers could reach some of the western and northern counties by mid to late afternoon. Showers and storms are more likely, mainly over the northern half of the state, by Sunday night. Sunday’s high will be in the low 80s.
NEXT WEEK: The first half of the week is looking wet at times and unsettled; we will forecast a good chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday through Wednesday with highs generally between 77 and 80 degrees. The weather trends drier by Thursday and Friday,
RAIN TOTALS: Some remarkable rain totals across Alabama from the ABC 33/40 Skywatcher team:
- West Blocton — 6.7 inches
- Moody — 6.68
- Vestavia Hills — 6.2
- Mountain Brook — 5.87
- Bessemer — 5.15
- Crestwood — 5.08
- Hoover — 4.82
- Margaret — 4.68
- Rainbow City — 4.59
- Bibbville — 4.28
- Weaver — 4.21
- Gardendale — 4.2
- Rock Creek — 4.02
- Oak Grove — 3.84
- Remlap — 3.78
- Northport — 3.42
- Carbon Hill — 3.38
- Hueytown — 3.22
ON THIS DATE IN 1933: Two devastating tornadoes were responsible for 25 deaths and 227 injuries in central Alabama before dawn.
The first was an F3 tornado that touched down at 12:20 a.m. and moved through Choctaw, Sumter and Marengo counties, killing four and injuring 27 people along its 35-mile-long path. Three of the fatalities occurred at Demopolis in Marengo County, where 50 homes were destroyed. The second tornado touched down around 2:30 a.m. and moved through Bibb and Shelby counties along a 35-mile-long path. This tornado had damage consistent with an F4 rating and was responsible for 21 deaths and 200 injuries. Hardest hit was the Shelby County town of Helena, where 14 were killed and 150 were injured. Five were killed in Brent in Bibb County and one was killed in the Colemont community.
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