James Spann: Warm, humid days for Alabama, with severe storms possible Friday
James Spann has the midweek forecast for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
SUMMER-LIKE WEATHER CONTINUES: Alabama’s weather won’t change much through Thursday — partly sunny, warm, humid days with a handful of widely scattered showers and storms, mostly during the afternoon and evening. The highs will be in the mid 80s both days, and odds of any one spot getting wet are 15-25%.
FRIDAY: A cold front will bring an organized batch of showers and thunderstorms into Alabama Friday. The Storm Prediction Center has now defined a slight risk (level 2 of 5) for much of the state.
The air becomes very unstable, with surface-based CAPE values of 2,000-3,000 j/kg for much of the state. Storms that move through will be capable of producing large hail and strong, potentially damaging wind. A brief, isolated tornado or two can’t be ruled out, but that is not the primary threat. We could very well have two rounds of storms, one during the early morning and another with the cold front during the afternoon. It won’t rain all day, but when thunderstorms pass through they could be strong to severe. Rain amounts of around one-half inch are likely and the high will be around 80 degrees.
MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND: Dry air returns Friday night, and the weekend will feature sunny days. The high will be close to 80 Saturday, followed by mid 80s Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: Most of the week will be dry, with potential for the hottest weather so far this year by midweek as temperatures climb toward the 90-degree mark. Global models suggest a few showers could show up by Friday, May 13.
ON THIS DATE IN 2007: A devastating EF5 twister demolished nearly every structure in Greensburg, Kansas, around 9:30 p.m. and killed 10. The mammoth wedge tornado cut a swath 1.7 miles wide and 22 miles long across the Kansas landscape. It was the worst single tornado to touch down in the U.S. in eight years.
ON THIS DATE IN 2021: Rain totals reached 5 to 7 inches in and surrounding Shelby and Jefferson counties. A rare flash flood emergency was issued to highlight the life-threatening nature of the flooding in the Birmingham metro. Many roads were closed, some structures were flooded and water rescues were performed.
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