James Spann: Dry, mild Wednesday ahead for Alabama; showers return Thursday
MILD NOVEMBER AFTERNOON: Temperatures are mostly between 72 and 76 degrees across Alabama this afternoon with sunshine filtered by high-altitude cirrus clouds around 20,000 feet off the ground. There’s nothing on radar, and the sky will be mostly fair tonight with a low in the 40s.
The weather stays dry Wednesday; the sky will be partly to mostly sunny with a high in the mid 70s. Clouds will increase Wednesday night.
SHOWERS THURSDAY: A cold front will bring occasional showers to Alabama Thursday. There will be some surface-based instability available, so a thunderstorm or two is possible, but severe storms are not expected with the main dynamic forcing well to the north. Rain amounts should be one-half inch or less, and the high will be close to 70 degrees. The main window for showers will come from about 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Friday will be breezy and cooler as the sky becomes partly to mostly sunny; the high will be in the 60- to 65-degree range. Any lingering showers Friday will be confined to areas near the Gulf Coast and the southeast corner of the state. Colder air will arrive over the weekend; despite sunshine in fully supply, the high will be between 52 and 55 degrees Saturday, followed by upper 50s Sunday. Lows will be well down in the 30s; many places will be close to freezing at daybreak Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: The weather continues to look quiet; dry weather continues Monday through Thursday, followed by some risk of showers at the end of the week. Highs will be in the upper 50s Monday and Tuesday, followed by 60s for the rest of the week. There’s still no sign of any severe weather threats for the next 10 days.
TROPICS: All remains quiet, and tropical storm formation is not expected through the week.
RAIN UPDATE: Here are rain totals for the year so far and the departure from average:
- Mobile — 77.51 inches (19.21 inches above average)
- Birmingham — 63.63 (15.05 above average)
- Tuscaloosa — 61.94 (16.86 above average)
- Huntsville — 57.99 (12.81 above average)
- Muscle Shoals — 56.3 (10.76 above average)
- Dothan — 56.16 (10.09 above average)
- Montgomery — 50.27 (7.04 above average)
- Anniston — 41.86 (2.27 below average)
ON THIS DATE IN 1864: On Election Night, a violent tornado struck a ferry on the Mississippi River near Chester, Illinois, blowing away all but the hull. The boiler and engines were found up the bluff. Half of Chester was destroyed, and 20 died during the storm.
ON THIS DATE IN 1926: An estimated F3 to F4 tornado tore through La Plata, Maryland, killing 14 people at a small school. This storm caused 17 deaths and injured 65 others.
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