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First off, thanks to J.B. Elliott, Bill Murray, and Dr. Tim for allowing me a little down time over the weekend… a good chance to get off the grid and recharge the batteries. When batteries get old (like me), they take a little longer to charge, you know. After some good weekend rest, I work up at 4:15 this morning fresh as a daisy. Not that any human should be awake at that hour.
RIGHT NOW: About 1 inch of snow is on the ground over the northern third of Alabama, generally north of U.S. 278, with only a dusting to the south. The idea of a 2 to 4 inch of snow with this one across parts of North and Northeast Alabama is a bust. Lesson to remember; clippers rarely produce big snows in Alabama. This one was no exception. The snow did indeed fall during the middle of the night, but it didn’t last long enough to stir up much of a fuss. See the image below of snow falling at Bear Creek earlier this morning, taken by Skywatcher Alan Hensley…
ICY BRIDGES: We need to stress that we are all below freezing, and lingering moisture on bridges is now ice, and I have great fear there will be some nasty wrecks this morning where people forget that. Let’s take it easy out there… black ice is a very real problem this morning. Elevated interstate highways in the Birmingham metro are the greatest issue, and roads across high terrain as well. The city of Fort Payne is closing Adamsburg Road up Lookout Mountain due to icing conditions – receiving numerous reports of icing road conditions from the Fort Payne area northward in the higher terrain areas (from the NWS in Huntsville).
TODAY/TOMORROW: Arctic air takes over today; we will have a hard time getting above freezing today, with a biting north wind and some risk of flurries. Tomorrow we stay cold with a high in the upper 30s, and we might see a few snow flurries tonight and tomorrow in scattered spots. Cold is the word.
REST OF THE WEEK: A warming trend headlines the forecast Wednesday through Friday. We expect a decent amount of sunshine each day, with a high in the mid 40s Wednesday, around 50 Thursday, followed by mid 50s Friday. That will be like a heat wave. And, it will be nice having a string of dry days for a change.
WEEKEND PEEK: The upper flow goes zonal, meaning no really cold air around for Saturday and Sunday. The GFS hints at some light rain on Saturday, followed by a dry day Sunday, and more light rain Monday of next week. But, timing out small waves in a fast flow is difficult; watch for forecast changes. One way or another the rain Saturday for now looks light and spotty.
OUT THERE IN VOODOO COUNTRY: Watch the Weather Xtreme video for details; the Arctic Oscillation remains strongly negative through the rest of February, so we most likely haven’t seen the last of the cold air. And, the storm machine cranks up again in about a week. The end of the month could be active and interesting.
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. Dr. Keith Blackwell of the University of South Alabama will be our guest tonight… a world famous tropical weather expert. The show will be posted by 11:00 p.m. or so.
STORM ALERT 2010 IS COMING TO HALE COUNTY THIS WEEK: Our annual severe weather rolls along; our next stop will be Thursday Hale County High School in Moundville. You can meet the ABC 33/40 Weather team, see some amazing Alabama weather stories, learn how to keep your family safe this tornado season, and win some cool stuff. The show begins at 7:00; be sure and get there early to get a good seat. See the entire tour schedule here!
Hopefully you have the day off; many businesses and schools are closed today since it is President’s Day… I will have the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 this afternoon. Enjoy the day and stay warm!
