James Spann: Rain for Alabama at times over the weekend, with a few strong storms
SUNNY AFTERNOON: With sunshine in full supply across Alabama this afternoon, temperatures are between 78 and 82 degrees for most places. Clouds will move in tonight, however, and a batch of rain and storms will arrive early Saturday morning. These storms could be strong with small hail and gusty winds; the Storm Prediction Center has much of north Alabama in a low-end marginal risk (level 1 out of 5) of severe thunderstorms for this activity.
EASTER WEEKEND: After the organized round of morning storms Saturday, additional showers and storms will form Saturday afternoon and night. They will be random and scattered, much like a summer day, and the sun could break out at times. So it won’t be a washout by any means, but be ready for a passing shower or thunderstorm. The high will be in the mid 70s.
For Easter, models are again showing an organized mass of rain and storms during the morning, with scattered showers and storms in the afternoon. The storms Sunday could be strong with small hail and gusty winds; we do not expect a tornado threat. Sunday’s high will be in the mid 70s.
NEXT WEEK: A stray shower is possible in spots Monday, but the rest of the week is now looking dry as an upper ridge builds across the Deep South. Look for highs between 68 and 72 degrees early in the week, followed by low 80s by Friday, April 22.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the Alabama A Day game in Tuscaloosa Saturday (2 p.m. kickoff), the sky will be mostly cloudy with a passing shower or storm possible. Temperatures will be in the low to mid 70s.
The Birmingham Stallions will host the New Jersey Generals Saturday evening at Protective Stadium (6:30 kickoff). Expect a mostly cloudy sky with a few showers possible; temperatures will fall from near 72 at kickoff into the upper 60s by the final whistle.
ON THIS DATE IN 2011: The “forgotten” tornado outbreak occurred, when 45 tornadoes touched down across Alabama. One of the large EF-3 tornadoes to strike central Alabama created a swath of damage from northeastern Greene County, just southeast of the community of Ralph, to just south of Veterans Memorial Parkway just east of Tuscaloosa in south-central Tuscaloosa County. Winds with this tornado were estimated at 140 mph, mainly uprooting and snapping trees. A few homes and businesses were damaged as the twister moved north of Shelton State Community College and crossed Alabama Highway 69 near Taylorville, crossing I-20/59 near Alabama Highway 82.
Another large EF-3 tornado struck the Myrtlewood and Pinhook communities of Marengo County with estimated winds of 150 mph. Several dozen single-family and mobile homes were destroyed or severely damaged. One person was killed when his mobile home was tossed several hundred feet across Alabama Highway 69.
Another EF-3 tornado moved through the Boones Chapel community in northern Autauga County. This twister was the third one to affect the same general area for the day, but this one was a killer. Three people were killed and four were seriously injured as the tornado destroyed the manufactured home they were in. In all, at least 50 homes and one business were either destroyed or significantly damaged.
The event was forgotten by many because of what would happen 12 days later, on April 27, 2011, when a generational tornado outbreak would kill 252 people in our state.
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