An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes…
APRIL 8, 1998: Scroll down to the post below this one and leave your memories about April 8, 1998. Everyone that lived through that night has a story to tell.
THE ALABAMA STORY: As expected, most of the state has enjoyed a sunny and warm day, with Birmingham reporting 78 degrees at 2:00. But, near the Georgia border, the wedge is the story with clouds and temperatures only in the 60s (Anniston is at 67 at 2:00).
THE DAYS AHEAD: The first wave of the week will bring a chance of severe weather to the nation’s heartland tomorrow and Wednesday… in the broad area from Dallas to St. Louis. The primary part of that lead wave will weaken and pass well to the north of Alabama, but it will bring a chance of showers, and possibly a thunderstorm by Wednesday afternoon or Wednesday night. This does not look like a severe weather threat, or a big rain event.
LATE IN THE WEEK: A stronger trough will bring a significant chance of severe weather to areas west of Alabama Thursday. Those storms will move into Alabama during the day Friday, and the dynamics suggest a chance of strong to severe thunderstorms once again. The latest run of the GFS (the 12Z run) now shows the best chance of storms from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Friday. The GFS shows SB CAPE values over 1,000 j/kg during the day, along with a decent amount of shear. As was the case last week, it will be another week of waiting and watching this “end of the week” system.
CHILLY WEEKEND: Following the storms on Friday, much cooler air will roll in here for the weekend. The latest GFS run is colder thanks to a deeper and more persistent upper trough. MOS is now printing a high of 68 Saturday and only 59 on Sunday. It shows a low of 39 Monday morning, which now seems to be the coldest morning. This means the chance of frost for the colder valleys; growers will need to keep an eye on this late season cold snap. It does not look as severe as the one we dealt with last year at this point.
We also note that some moisture wraps back into North Alabama over the weekend after an initial dry slot Friday night, this could mean some light rain Saturday or Sunday under the cold air aloft.
THE LAND OF VOODOO: We begin to warm up toward the middle of next week, and for now much of the week looks relatively dry (April 14-18).
PRIME TIME TV SPECIAL: Join ABC 33/40 on the occasional of the tenth anniversary of the April 8, 1998 F5 tornado for a prime time weather special. The show will air from 6:30 until 8:00 p.m. tomorrow; for one hour we will look back at this historic storm, through the eyes of those that covered the storm for ABC 33/40, and those in the path of the storm who survived. We will also be going to a live memorial service at Open Door Church, one of the many churches who lost their building that horrible Wednesday night.
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. We will record this week’s show during the day tomorrow; it will be posted at some point tomorrow afternoon.
Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow!
