James Spann: Dry weekend for Alabama with a warming trend
THIS AFTERNOON: The sky has cleared across most of Alabama at mid-afternoon, but there is a lingering, narrow band of clouds around I-20/59. Those clouds are dissipating quickly and the sky will be clear statewide tonight. As expected, temperatures are much colder today, with readings mostly in the 40s. The low early Saturday morning will be in the 20s for most communities.
Look for sunny weather over the weekend with a warming trend. The high will be in the upper 50s Saturday, followed by mid 60s Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: A northward-moving warm front will bring widespread rain to the state Monday. With a cloudy sky, the high will be between 60 and 65 degrees. Tuesday will be very mild, with a high in the 70s and a chance of showers; most likely the heaviest rain will be to the north over parts of Arkansas and Tennessee.
Global models are having a hard time resolving details over the latter half of the week, but the weather will remain generally unsettled. The latest data suggests that a temporary surge of cooler, drier air could arrive Wednesday, but rain chances return Thursday and Friday as moisture surges northward again. There could be some risk of strong storms toward the end of the week, but it’s way too early to know whether severe thunderstorms will be an issue.
STORM SURVEYS: National Weather Service Birmingham has confirmed EF1 tornado damage in parts of Jefferson and Shelby counties in the area between Greystone and Leeds. Also, EF-0 damage has been confirmed at Boley Springs in Fayette County. Survey teams continue their work this afternoon in other parts of the state.
ON THIS DATE IN 1992: A thunderstorm spawned a powerful F4 tornado for so far north for the time of the year in southern Van Wert County in Ohio. The tornado touched down just west of U.S. Route 127 and traveled northeastward for about 3 miles. One house was leveled and nine others experienced severe damage. Six people were injured.
ON THIS DATE IN 2021: Cold, arctic air covered Alabama and snow amounts of 2-5 inches were common across counties like Madison, Limestone, Morgan, Lauderdale, Colbert, Lawrence, Marion and Winston.
BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.
WEATHER BRAINS: You can listen to our weekly 90-minute show any time on your favorite podcast app. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including the meteorologists at ABC 33/40.
CONNECT: You can find me on the major social networks:T
For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.
