James Spann: Clearing in Alabama tonight; dry through the weekend
CLEARING: The sky will clear across Alabama over the next six hours as dry air punches into the state from the west. We project a low mostly in the mid 30s early Wednesday, but a few colder spots could see a light freeze.
Wednesday will be sunny and cool, with a high in the mid 50s. With a clear sky, temperatures will drop into the 25- to 32-degree range early Thursday morning. Thursday will feature a sunny sky with a big warm-up; we project a high in the low 60s Thursday afternoon.
CHRISTMAS WEEKEND: The warming trend continues; look for highs in the upper 60s Friday and low 70s on Christmas Day. If we achieve the forecast high of 72 Saturday, it will be a tie with 1964 for the sixth-warmest Christmas Day on record. The weather stays mild Sunday with a high around 70 degrees. It will be dry; the sky will be partly to mostly sunny each day.
NEXT WEEK: A strong upper high over the northern Gulf of Mexico should keep the state generally dry and mild through the week, with highs between 66 and 71 degrees.
RAIN UPDATE: Here are rain totals for the year so far, and the departure from average:
- Mobile — 82.92 inches (17.99 inches above average)
- Birmingham — 68.54 (13.7 above average)
- Tuscaloosa — 66.53 (14.92 above average)
- Huntsville — 62.53 (10.21 above average)
- Dothan — 60.64 (8.53 above average)
- Muscle Shoals — 59.99 (7.49 above average)
- Montgomery — 55.35 (6.07 above average)
- Anniston — 46.34 (4.13 below average)
ON THIS DATE IN 1967: An F4 tornado traveled 33 miles across Iron and Washington counties in Missouri during an unusual time of day, 12:45 to 1:20 a.m. The tornado killed three and injured 52 others. Most of the intense damage occurred in the town of Potosi, about 55 miles southwest of St. Louis. The tornado swept through the business district, destroying City Hall, the library, a large supermarket and a shopping center complex. Northeast of town, two people were killed when their home was swept from its foundation.
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