An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes…
First off, let me remind all of you that our annual severe weather awareness tour across Alabama, Storm Alert 2008, opens tonight at Oak Grove High School at 7:00. I saw Bill Castle’s video elements for the show last night, and they are something special. We will focus on the 10th anniversary of the April 8, 1998 F5 tornado; I think everyone that was impacted by that storm will really enjoy seeing these segments. The doors open at 5:00… you can meet the entire ABC 33/40 weather team if you come early. And, we really raided the prize closet this year with some great giveaways. As always, there will be free t-shirts for the first 500 people there. See you tonight.
RIGHT NOW: Yep, we have some echoes on radar early this morning, but most all of that is not reaching the ground with dry polar air in place. The main show will come late this afternoon and tonight when some very impressive dynamics reach Alabama in the 4:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. time frame.
SPC maintains a slight risk of severe thunderstorms over the southern half of Alabama tonight; I think the best chance of severe weather will really be south of I-10, close to the coast, where there will be some surface based instability. Up this way, there might be a little thunder, but those storms will be elevated. The good news is that we expect just about everyone to get one inch of rain. Latest model extraction from the NAM shows 0.70″ for Birmingham, while the GFS is wetter with 1.10″, and we believe that wetter solution is correct.
Winds will increase out of the south today, but we don’t expect the kind of wind we had back on Tuesday night when we dealt with widespread tree and power line damage.
WINTER STORM TODAY: Back in the cold air, a major snow event will unfold today in the general area from Tulsa to Detroit. Places like Springfield, St. Louis, and Indianapolis will be hammered by heavy snow.
TOMORROW AND THE WEEKEND: The sky will clear tomorrow with temperatures holding in the 40s most of the day. Saturday will feature maximum sunshine with a chilly start (28 to 32), but a big warm-up during the day (a high around 60). Moist air returns on Sunday, and we will continue to mention a chance of showers by Sunday afternoon.
NEXT WEEK: We will keep the chance of showers going on Monday, and then a major upper trough rolls in here on Tuesday, and with a decent amount of instability this time, a severe weather event will be possible by Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday night. Once we get tonight’s system out of here we will focus on that situation.
VOODOO COUNTY: Snow lovers will really like the 06Z GFS; it paints opportunities for snow over North Alabama around February 8 and February 11. But, it is what it is… voodoo. Watch the Weather Xtreme video to see the graphics.
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.
I am headed over to Calhoun County today to see the kids at Weaver Elementary… and as mentioned, I will be out at Oak Grove High School this afternoon getting ready for Storm Alert 2008. I am not totally sure I can crank out an afternoon Weather Xtreme video due to the travel schedule, but I will have the ole MacBook Pro, and if I get a little time I will go my best to make that happen. One way or another J.B. will keep you posted on developments as the day rolls along!
