James Spann: Warming trend continues for Alabama; dry through the weekend
James Spann has a warm, quiet midweek forecast for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
WARMING TREND ROLLS ALONG: Despite a chilly start this morning with many places in the 30s, look for a high between 71 and 75 degrees this afternoon with sunshine in full supply. The average high for Birmingham on March 2 is 63.
Dry weather continues through the weekend. With a sunny sky we expect a high in the mid 70s Thursday and between 77 and 81 degrees Friday. Humidity levels will rise a bit Saturday and Sunday, but the upper ridge will keep us dry. With a partly sunny sky the high both days will be pretty close to 80 degrees; it will be the warmest weekend so far this year.
NEXT WEEK: A cold front will bring showers and thunderstorms to the state Monday. There will be some surface-based instability available, and strong, possibly severe thunderstorms can’t be ruled out. It’s still too early to know whether there will be a significant severe weather issue; we will have much better clarity over the next few days.
Beyond Monday, forecast confidence is not especially high. The global models are now pushing the front southward to the Gulf Coast, showing dry weather for most of the state during midweek with highs in the 60s, and we will go with that in our forecast, but there remains some chance the front could hang up over north Alabama with some risk of rain continuing.
ON THIS DATE IN 2012: Ten tornadoes touched down in Alabama, including an EF-2 that moved through Tallapoosa and Chambers counties, killing one person. This large multiple-vortex tornado crossed Lake Martin near the beginning of its path before passing near Jackson’s Gap, Eagle Creek and Trammel Crossroads. Several homes sustained significant damage and multiple mobile homes were destroyed. One mobile home frame was wrapped completely around a tree trunk. Thousands of trees were snapped and uprooted along the path, and two other people were injured.
Another EF-2 moved through parts of Madison County. Homes were damaged to varying degrees by this high-end EF-2 tornado, with a few poorly constructed homes destroyed. Silos, garages and barns were damaged or destroyed, and many trees and power poles were snapped. Buckhorn High School was damaged, with vehicles moved and damaged in the parking lot.
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