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First off, thanks to J.B. and Tim for all of the overnight work. You don’t see too many weather blogs with meteorologists who stay up all night with events like this. And, those guys allow me the chance to grab a nap! Sleep doesn’t come easy in this business.
RIGHT NOW: SPC will allow the severe thunderstorm watch for Central Alabama to expire at 7:00… a flash flood warning continues for Pickens, Greene, and Sumter counties until 6:30… and a flash flood watch remains in effect for Autauga, Bibb, Calhoun, Chambers, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Lee, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa until 4:00 this afternoon.
You have to wonder when was the last time we had flash flood watches and warnings around here. This rain event has been superb; many spots have gone over two inches across Central Alabama.
LATER TODAY: SPC maintains a slight risk of severe weather for the southern half of Alabama. Needless to say, we are still cool and stable with 52 degrees at Birmingham at 5:00. But, we note the temperature/dewpoint at Mobile is now 68/66; that unstable air is moving northward and should be in place over Central and South Alabama this afternoon. And, with a short wave rotating through here during the peak of the daytime heating process, you have to figure that we will have one more healthy round of showers and storms later today. The prime threat for strong to severe storms will be along and south I-20, and the primary threat will come from damaging straight line winds, but an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out. As always, we will keep our eyes on the sky.
THE WEEKEND: The rain will end tonight, and the weekend looks dry with a high in the mid to upper 50s both tomorrow and Sunday. Some energy will rotate through the Tennessee Valley Sunday, but the air looks too dry for any significant chance of rain.
NEXT WEEK: Another dynamic weather system will impact Alabama Tuesday with more showers and strong thunderstorms. The 06Z GFS (the latest run we have in house) hints the best chance of storms will come Tuesday morning, so the degree of instability is in question. But, the dynamics suggest a chance of strong to severe storms, so we will be watching that closely. We will get a good look at this system over the weekend, after today’s system moves out.
Look out for a blast of much colder air Wednesday; we might have a hard time getting out of the 30s with an icy north wind. Maybe even a few morning flurries. A hard freeze is likely by Thursday morning of next week.
THE LAND OF VOODOO: No point in trying to be specific about any system beyond seven days, but the pattern continues to suggest active and changeable weather well into March. Looks like storm systems will blow through here about every four to five days.
STORM ALERT 2008: Thanks to everyone for coming out to the show last night in Lineville; we had a great crowd despite the horrible weather. The last chance to see this year’s show will be next Tuesday night… we will be at Bethel Baptist Church in Moody at 7:00. Their church building was destroyed by a tornado April 8, 1998… and of course, that storm is one of our featured stories.
SPECIAL ABC 33/40 NOAA WEATHER RADIO OFFER: You can purchase a top of the line Midland NOAA Weather Radio at any 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. Get more information 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 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 will be speaking at Bluff Park Elementary School this morning… then I will be back in the office and the afternoon Weather Xtreme video should be up by 3:30. We will keep the blog fresh with updates throughout the day!
