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THE OLE WEDGE: Cooler air continues to roll into Alabama from the east; Birmingham is reporting only 62 degrees at 2:00 with an east wind averaging 15 mph. Our SKYCAM atop Mount Cheaha in East Alabama is reporting only 49 degrees; we would normally be in the mid 70s this time of the year. The combination of the wedge, and the expect rain, will make for some pretty raw weather continues through tomorrow night.
BENEFICIAL RAIN AHEAD: We are still projecting around one inch of rain for Alabama between now and tomorrow night. The 12Z NAM is slightly drier with 0.61″ for Birmingham, while the GFS is printing 0.87″. Temperatures will hold in the 50s tonight and tomorrow as the rain falls; some places near the Georgia border could hover in the upper 40s, deeper in the wedge. I really don’t expect much thunder with a cool stable air in the low levels, just widespread rain. Most of that rain will fall from about 9:00 p.m. tonight through 6:00 p.m. tomorrow.
BRIGHTER AND WARMER WEEKEND: Sunshine returns for the weekend; the high Saturday will be in the mid 60s, with temperatures close to 70 Sunday.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: Auburn is in Morgantown to play West Virginia tonight on ESPN with a 6:30 kick off. Clear weather is expected with about 52 degrees at kick off dropping into the 40s. On Saturday, Alabama State plays Alabama A&M in the Magic City Classic at Legion Field with a 2:30 p.m. kick off and tape delay on ESPNU. Meanwhile, the Citadel will be at Samford for their homecoming at 2:00 p.m. For both games, it should be mostly sunny with about 66 at kick off and in the 50s by the 4th quarter. NW winds 7-14 mph for both games. Finally, Alabama is at Knoxville for an evening game Saturday. The kick off is at 6:45 p.m. (CDT) on ESPN. It will be clear and cool with 55 degrees at kick off and dropping into the 40s. This evening for some high school games in this part of Alabama, some light rain may be threatening, but temperatures will be mostly in the 50s.
COLD SHOT NEXT WEEK: The coldest air so far this season will roll into Alabama early next week; strong north winds will pick up Monday, and a few sprinkles are not out of the question. We might have a really hard time getting out of the 50s Monday, and lows will drop into the 30s both Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Still looks like the coldest morning will be Wednesday, with mid 30s likely along with widespread frost on the Halloween pumpkins. A freeze is likely for colder valleys at daybreak Wednesday.
PRIME TIME SPECIAL: Join us on ABC 33/40 tomorrow night at 7:00 for “Southern Skies of 2008″…. this is our annual fall severe weather special. You will see some great Alabama weather stories, and learn more about getting your family ready for our fall tornado season, which begins in only 9 days!
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 XTREME: Want to be trained as a storm spotter? Want to join the ABC 33/40 Skywatcher team? Our annual training event, Storm Alert Xtreme, is coming up on Saturday November 15 at the BJCC during the annual Birmingham International Auto Show. You will be trained by the best SKYWARN trainer in the nation, our own Brian Peters (he has trained over 6,000 Alabama storm spotters over the years), and learn from one of the most brilliant weather researchers in the country, our own Dr. Tim Coleman. We encourage all of our Skywatchers to attend this every year; you simply cannot get enough training. We will begin at 9:30, and be out by 3:30. And, everyone that attends Storm Alert Xtreme gets free admission to the Alabama International Auto Show. There is no admission charge, and no need to register. Just show up, but get there early for a good seat. We had a packed house last year.
I had a great time seeing a big group of kids at Fayette Head Start this morning; be looking for them on the KIDCAM today at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 News! The next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow…
