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While much of North America is dealing with record cold and lots of snow, we will be an oasis this weekend with afternoon highs well up in the 70s. If we reach our projected high of 75 on Sunday, that will beat the old record of 74 for December 9, set in 1946. The southerly wind flow will also mean increasing moisture levels, and a rogue shower might pop up somewhere, especially on Sunday, but many communities will remain dry over the weekend.
TO THE WEST: A big time winter storm will set up over the western part of the nation during the next three days. Snow totals of one to four FEET are likely across the highest elevations near the continental divide. Winter storm watches and warnings blanket much of the western U.S… skiers will love it, but travelers will really struggle.
A really nasty ice storm is shaping up for much of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri early next week, and there might even be some ice down into North Texas. It is the ugly combination of very cold but shallow cold air, and moist air running on the top of it.
ALABAMA NEXT WEEK: The 06Z GFS is coming in slower for our chance of showers next week; it is now suggesting we will have to wait until Wednesday before the trailing front moves through Alabama (extending south from the weakening storm to the north). The model is really struggling to handle how the big storm lifts out, but there will be a risk of showers somewhere in the Tuesday-Wednesday time frame; we can get the time pinned down over the weekend. I still don’t believe it will be a major rain event, and severe weather is not expected. Colder air will follow the mid-week showers as our mini-December heat wave comes to an end.
LONG RANGE: The GFS/ECMWF are still advertising a nice rain event around December 17 as we peek into voodoo land. There is no doubt a fairly decent jet will form on the boundary of the bitterly cold Arctic air to the north, and the warmer air along the Gulf coast, and hopefully that will offer more than one decent rain setup for Alabama for the rest of the month. And, of course, after the passage of each wave we will get a shot of cold air coming down across the snow pack to the north.
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Busy day ahead… I am not sure I will be able to crank out an afternoon Weather Xtreme video today due to the travel schedule, but I will write a discussion one way or another by 3:30. I will be down in Clanton this evening for a live weather shot at 5:00; then I will be the grand marshall of the annual Clanton Christmas parade, which begins at 6:00. Looks like a pretty decent evening for a parade!
