The Tuesday morning ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes:
We go back to the “two a day” video schedule today… looks like an active and interesting pattern ahead.
SHORT TERM: Lots of sunshine today and tomorrow, with temperatures reaching the upper 50s today and low 60s tomorrow.
FCSM CRANKING OUT THE HITS: The Four Corners Storm Machine will continue to fire systems at us every three to four days, and the next one will bring another good rain event Thursday, Thursday night, and into Friday. Looks like rainfall amounts of one to two inches are likely, with isolated heavier amounts over Southwest Alabama. Severe weather does not look likely and SPC has dropped the severe weather risk area. The air will be too stable, and wind fields are not strong enough for a major outbreak, although the immediate Gulf coast might have a few severe storms to deal with.
WEEKEND PEEK: We might be able to squeeze in a dry day on Saturday, but no promise as moist air is really never scoured out of the state. Then, we will bring back a good chance of rain and storms on Sunday as the next weather system approaches.
Monday of next week looks alot like yesterday; clouds much of the day with a chllly north breeze and highs only in the upper 40s and low 50s.
LONG RANGE: Watch the video and you can see the GFS is still forecasting the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) to remain positive through mid-month. This means any cold air intrusions should be fairly tame and not long lasting. However, the weather is getting really cold again around the Arctic. Our pals at Deadhorse, Alaska are reporting 43 degrees below zero as I type this update, and the GFS builds continues to build some brutally cold air over the northern part of North America through mid-month. Watch the video and you can see a 1048 mb high shows up over Canada on January 16, with very cold air flooding the northern half of the “lower 48” by then. But, the upper air winds won’t allow the core of it to reach us. But, we will have to watch for any sign of the very edge of that air moving into the state. The cold air will be very shallow, and with the FCSM still cranking out the hits we have to be on our toes. That would mean a much greater chance of ice, and not snow down the line if a shallow layer of very cold air can reach us.
If that NAO goes negative, watch out. The cold weather fans in Alabama might have more than they bargained for by the latter half of this month.
CATCH UP with the latest weather news over on WeatherParty.com Lots of interesting reading over there as usual.
I am playing injured today with a nasty sinus infection and a sprained muscle in my back (I did that when I slipped on the stairs in the middle of the night a couple of nights ago). I am heading to see the doctor this morning for some heavy duty antibiotics and something to relax the muscle issue. I haven’t been sick for a while, so this was overdue. I usually bounce back pretty quickly. I should have the afternoon video posted by 3:30 today unless I am holed up in a physician’s office!
