An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes…
A cold front will pass through Alabama this afternoon, and will bring showers and thunderstorms to a state that is starved for rain. Parts of West Alabama have enjoyed rain overnight; some quick reports since midnight from the team of ABC 33/40 Skywatchers:
Pleasant Grove 0.25″
Concord 0.20″
Fayette 0.17″
Hamilton 0.17″
We are still projecting rain totals on an average basis between one-quarter and one-half inch today, but some spots will see more from the stronger thunderstorms. No organized severe weather is expected due to limited instability values and marginal wind fields.
The rain will taper off during the mid to late afternoon as drier air rolls into the state, and we are looking at absolutely beautiful weather tomorrow, Friday, and over the weekend. Models continue to trend cooler; the NAM is coming with a high of only 71 for Birmingham on Friday, and the GFS drops our low Saturday morning to 46. If we go get down into the mid 40s Saturday, we will be flirting with record low temperatures. Birmingham’s record low for Saturday morning (May 19) is 43, set in 1976.
The bottom line is that we will enjoy sunny mild days and clear cool nights tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday, with low humidity and excellent visibility. The smoke and haze from yesterday will be long gone. By Sunday afternoon we will rise into the mid 80s, but dewpoints and humidity values will remain low. What a wonderful weekend for the Regions Charity Golf Classic at Ross Bridge (our annual Senior PGA golf tournament).
LONG TERM: The GFS continues to show a robust cold front with good upper support on May 24 (eight days from now), which will bring our next chance of rain if the model is correct. And, the southeast Gulf of Mexico still looks unsettled as we wrap up the month of May and open the hurricane season.
BEST WAY TO THE BEACHES: I am finishing up my annual piece called “Spann’s Best Way To The Bama Beaches”… a trip to the Alabama Gulf coast down the roads less traveled. I hope to post this tonight or tomorrow… be watching for it. You can read the versions from previous years here…
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 hosted by David Black and featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. A very interesting show this week; I hope you have time to listen.
WEATHER PARTY: Get all the latest weather news over on our sister site, WeatherParty.com. Be sure and register while you are there; you can submit stories and vote on them to determine what is published on the front page.
Today I will be speaking at Oxford Elementary School in Calhoun County; I will be back in the weather office by early afternoon and the afternoon edition of the Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 3:30. J.B. will be around today to keep you updated on the progress of the parade of showers and thunderstorms…..
