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RIGHT NOW: A large mass of rain and storms remains over South Alabama; the activity over the northern half of the state is rather light and spotty with a rain-cooler, stable airmass in place. A severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect for much of South Alabama, generally south of U.S. 84, until 7:00 p.m. A flash flood watch is also in effect down south, where an additional 5 to 10 inches of rain is likely during the next five days. We don’t expect any severe weather or flooding problems up this way tonight. The showers will end late tonight.
TOMORROW: After a cloudy start, the sun could peek through the clouds at times tomorrow afternoon as we get a one day break in the rain. The high tomorrow should be close to 70.
SEVERE WEATHER THURSDAY? Yet another major storm system will impact Alabama Thursday. All of the severe weather parameters will be in play; excellent dynamic forcing and upper support, steep lapse rates, good instability, and veering of the wind with altitude. The 12Z GFS hints the main window for severe weather will come from 12:00 noon until 12:00 midnight Thursday; we have seen EHI values as high as 3.0, with surface based CAPE values as high as 2,500 j/kg. A rapidly deepening surface low will move from near Shreveport to Paducah, putting Alabama in a favorable quadrant of the storm for severe weather. Will a Gulf Coast MCS block our inflow and reduce instability? Nothing like that showing up on the models for now, but let’s take a much closer look tomorrow after today’s action is well to the east.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Friday will feature cooler temperatures along with gradual clearing; the high will be in the mid 60s. Saturday looks like a beautiful day, with ample sunshine and a high in the mid 70s. But, on Sunday, the parade of storms rolls along, and more showers and strong storms are likely.
NEXT WEEK: The active pattern continues; the next major system is due in here late Wednesday or Thursday (April 8-9), and that could pose some risk of strong to severe storms. No sign of this breaking down through mid-April.
TWITTER: Don’t forget, you can follow our news and weather updates from ABC 33/40 on Twitter here. And, my personal Twitter feed is here if you want to keep up with my adventures in life. Twitter is a short messaging service you can receive via the web, cell phone, or IM.
WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 30 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. You can even listen here on the blog; look for the player on the top left. We will record a few episode tonight; it will be available by 10:30 or so.
SPECIAL ABC 33/40 NOAA WEATHER RADIO OFFER: You can purchase the WR-100 Midland NOAA Weather Radio, the best selling model in the nation, at any Publix or Handy TV location in this part of Alabama for only $29.95. These receivers have the new digital technology that allows you to choose the counties for which the alarm sounds. Every Alabama home and business needs one!
I had a great time today visiting with the kids at American Christian Academy in Tuscaloosa; be looking for them on the Pepsi KIDCAM today at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 News. The last time I was in that building was when I was the 9th grade, when it was occupied by Eastwood Junior High School. Brought back some fun memories!
The next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow…
