James Spann: Clearing in Alabama tonight, brighter weather for the weekend
COLD WINTER DAY: With a thick cloud cover in place, temperatures are only in the 30s over the northern half of Alabama this afternoon; some communities are below freezing. Radar shows lingering light rain south of a line from Millry to Opelika, and a few very light snow flurries have been reported over the northern counties. Look for gradual clearing tonight; most places will see a low between 21 and 27 degrees early Saturday morning.
The weekend will feature a sun-filled sky with a warming trend. The high will be in the mid 40s Saturday, followed by mid to upper 50s Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: Most of the state will stay dry. A disturbance could bring a little light rain to the Gulf Coast and the far southeast counties Monday; otherwise the day will be dry with a high in the low 50s. For the rest of the week look for mostly sunny days and fair nights with seasonal temperatures. Highs will be mostly in the 50s, lows mostly in the 30s.
STORM SURVEY: National Weather Service survey teams have found EF2 tornado damage near Sawyerville in Hale County and at least EF1 tornado damage south of Cuba in Sumter County. This remains preliminary, as surveys are ongoing and additional details will be released by this evening. One person was killed at Sawyerville, and three others were critically injured when their mobile home was destroyed.
ON THIS DATE IN 1995: A massive nor’easter pounded areas from the southern Mid-Atlantic to northern New England. It would be the only significant storm in the 1994-95 winter season. More than 20 inches of snow buried parts of upstate New York. Wind chills dropped as cold as 40 degrees below zero. Behind the storm, arctic air crossing the relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes produced intense lake effect squalls for nearly two weeks, from Feb 4 through Feb. 14. Snowfall totals for the storm ranged from nearly 2 to 7 feet.
ON THIS DATE IN 2011: A winter storm settled 4 to 6 inches of snow over northern Texas, including Dallas, just days before the Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers.
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