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Quite a thermal gradient north of here; this morning at 5:00 Muscle Shoals is reporting 38, while not all that far away, Fayetteville, Arkansas is at 11 degrees.
For now it looks like most of the day today will be dry, although a few sprinkles are possible south of Birmingham. The Arctic front will blow through here late tonight, and there will be a chance of some light rain tonight prior to the front’s arrival. Rain should be on the light side, and mostly south of U.S. 278.
FRIGID DAY TOMORROW: We won’t get out of the 30s with a very brisk north wind, which will keep wind chill values below freezing most all day. And, a hard freeze is coming up tomorrow night; most spots will wind up somewhere between 15 and 23 by daybreak Friday. Interesting to note a huge spread between the GFS and the NAM for early Friday; the GFS shows a low of 24, while the NAM is printing 13. The truth is in-between those numbers.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: We will warm into the upper 40s on Friday; clouds will increase during the afternoon in advance of the next short wave, and some rain should reach the state Friday night. Sure looks like a situation similar to yesterday morning; some ice pellets will be possible at the onset of the precipitation over North Alabama, and the high terrain locations of Northeast Alabama could see a little freezing rain and isolated bridge icing. For most of you, however, it will be just a cold rain Friday night into Saturday. The rain should diminish during the midday hours Saturday.
The 06Z GFS is coming in with a dry look for Sunday as an upper ridge begins to build here; if the 12Z run continues that trend we can take out the chance of a shower on Sunday. And, we will be much warmer as temperatures rise into the 60s.
NEXT WEEK: The GFS is now hinting that Monday could be a dry day, followed by a good chance of showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday as a nice wave passes just north of Alabama. Then, a stronger system shows up at the end of the week which could bring some very beneficial rain to Alabama Thursday and Friday (January 31-February 1).
LONG RANGE: The pattern looks active in the February 1-7 time frame, with at least one good storm system showing up and one or two shots of cold air.
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.
STORM ALERT 2008: Our annual severe weather awareness tour across Alabama begins next week! Our first stop will at Oak Grove High School on Thursday January 31; from there will have shows in Anniston, Northport, Lineville, and Moody. See the details on this year’s show, and the schedule here. We hope to see you along the way!
I am on the road this morning to Northwest Alabama; I will be doing a weather program at Haleyville, up in Winston County. I will be back in the office by early afternoon, and the next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 3:30! Enjoy the day…
