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Temperatures will soar across Alabama again today and tomorrow, with upper 70s likely for most communities across North Alabama. The southern half of the state will see highs in the low 80s; well above the “normal” high of 65 degrees for March 12. Both days will feature a partly sunny sky, as high clouds stream overhead coming from storms over Texas. This morning we note a tornado watch is in effect for the upper Texas coastal plain, including Houston and Galveston. But, around here, we stay dry as the upper low over Texas is in no hurry to go anywhere. In fact, the 00Z GFS suggests the upper low will retrograde a bit (move westward) during the next 24 hours before it finally gets kicked out to the east.
OUR NEXT RAIN: We will mention a chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm by Wednesday afternoon, but it looks like the best chance of rain will come Wednesday night and Thursday as the upper trough finally moves through the state. Our system in Texas will phase with another trough in the northern branch of the jet stream, and will help to push a pretty decent cold front through here Thursday night. At this point we don’t expect any severe weather, but this is March so we will keep a close eye on the situation.
COLDER DAYS: Look for a change to sharply cooler weather for Friday and the weekend. Temperatures will dip into the 30s both Saturday and Sunday morning; the coldest morning should be Sunday morning when a light freeze is possible for the normally colder spots over North Alabama; looks like most places will be in the mid 30s, however. Looks like highs in the 50s on Saturday, with low 60s on Sunday as a warming trend begins. The weekend should be rain-free.
LONG RANGE: The good news is that we don’t see any major severe weather setup for the next 16 days if the GFS is correct. The trend will be for temperatures to be above normal, and rainfall below normal. Quite frankly, we need some decent rain events since our rain deficit for the year continues to grow. Birmingham’s rain total since January 1 is 6.03″, which is 5.73″ below normal.
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I am writing this from Enterprise, where I will spend the day with Bill Castle working on our annual March prime time weather special, which will air on ABC 33/40 on Sunday, March 25 from 6:00 until 7:00 p.m. Needless to say, there are some amazing stories to tell down here. I will take some still shots today as time allows, and will share them tomorrow here on the blog. Brian Peters will cover the afternoon discussion and Weather Xtreme video today, and Ashley Brand will handle the TV shift for me tonight on ABC 33/40 at 5, 6, and 10:00. I will be back in the saddle early tomorrow morning….
