James Spann: Alabama stays warm, dry through Friday; rain returns Friday night, Saturday morning
WARM APRIL AFTERNOON: Temperatures are between 80 and 85 degrees across Alabama this afternoon with a cloudless sky. Tonight will be clear with a low in the 50s.
Dry weather continues across Alabama through the day Friday with mostly sunny, warm afternoons and fair, pleasant nights. Highs will be in the low to mid 80s, with lows in the 50s.
FRIDAY NIGHT AND THE WEEKEND: Rain returns to the state Friday night and Saturday morning as a cold front passes through. While a few isolated showers could pop up late Friday afternoon, for now it looks like the window for the most widespread rain will come from about 10 Friday night through 10 a.m. Saturday. Some thunder is possible, but severe storms are not expected with no surface-based instability. Rain amounts will likely be around one-half inch.
The sky will clear from west to east Saturday afternoon as cooler, drier air moves into the state. On the positive side, models have backed off on the degree of cold air advection, and we have raised forecast temperature levels. We now expect highs between 68 and 73 degrees for most communities.
Sunday will be sunny with highs between 67 and 74 degrees.
NEXT WEEK: Monday will be dry with highs mostly in the low to mid 70s. A few isolated showers are possible Tuesday afternoon, but showers are more likely Wednesday and Thursday. Thunderstorms could be involved, but for now it doesn’t look like a severe weather setup. Highs hold in the 70s through much of the week.
ALABAMA A-DAY: Look for a clearing sky during Saturday’s spring game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Temperatures will be in the low 70s.
RACE WEEKEND: Rain should be over in Talladega by noon Saturday, so they should be able to get the two races in Saturday afternoon. The high will be between 68 and 72 degrees with a clearing sky. Sunday will be sunny for the running of the Geico 500, with a high not too far from 70 degrees.
ON THIS DATE IN 1986: A major storm system produced 10 tornadoes in Texas. One of these tornadoes virtually annihilated the town of Sweetwater, striking at the unlikely time of 7:17 a.m. One person was killed and 100 were injured.
ON THIS DATE IN 2020: A total of 15 tornadoes touched down across Alabama.
BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.
For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.
