James Spann: Dry, warm in Alabama through Sunday; severe storms possible Monday
James Spann forecasts the warmest weekend so far this year for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
DRY THROUGH SUNDAY WITH WARM AFTERNOONS: Alabama’s weather won’t change much through the weekend; highs will be close to 80 degrees each afternoon with rain-free conditions continuing. Expect lots of sun today and a partly sunny sky Saturday and Sunday; it will be the warmest weekend so far this year.
MONDAY: The Storm Prediction Center has introduced a risk of severe thunderstorms for about the northern two-thirds of Alabama, for areas north of a line from Sweetwater to Clanton to Ranburne.
The main window for severe thunderstorms will come from about 2 until 10 p.m. Monday, and the stronger storms will be capable of producing hail, strong straight-line winds and a few tornadoes. We will be much more specific about the threat once we get within 60 hours and we can look at the event with convection-allowing models.
REST OF NEXT WEEK: The front that will bring the risk of strong to severe storms Monday will become nearly stationary over south Alabama Tuesday; the best chance of showers will shift to the southern quarter of the state. On Wednesday, a wave moves along the front with a chance of rain for most of the state. Tuesday and Wednesday will be much cooler for north and central Alabama, with highs in the 50s.
Thursday should be mostly rain-free, but we will have another chance of showers and storms Friday as another cold front moves into the state. It’s too early to know whether there will be a risk of severe storms.
Much colder air rolls into the state during the following weekend (March 12-13), and there is good potential for lows in the 20s over the northern half of the state early Sunday morning, March 13.
ON THIS DATE IN 1873: The second inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant remains Washington, D.C.’s, record cold March day. The low was 4 degrees, and by noon, with the sunshine, the temperature was 16 degrees. Wind chills were around 30 degrees below zero. The 40 mph winds made his inaugural address inaudible to most on the platform with him.
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