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HEAVIEST RAIN TO THE THE SOUTH: As expected, the most widespread and heaviest rain is located over the southern half of Alabama this afternoon; the NWS in Birmingham continues flash flood warnings for Russell, Barbour, and Bullock Counties of Southeast Alabama through the rest of the afternoon.
Over the northern half of the state, clouds, fog, and some drizzle continue along the I-20/59 corridors, and to the north, the sun is shining over the Tennessee Valley. Muscle Shoals has soared to 71 degrees with a good supply of sunshine.
TONIGHT/TOMORROW: Some model madness is creeping in; the NAM is becoming more aggressive with rain over all of Alabama tomorrow morning, while the GFS is drier. The NAM rain total is now up to 0.73″, while the GFS is printing only 0.11″. I figure the GFS is closer to being correct based on radar trends so far, but we will continue to mention a few periods of rain tonight, ending tomorrow morning, with the heaviest rain to the south. We don’t expect any severe weather, and there are no risks defined tonight by the Storm Prediction Center.
TURNING COLDER: Tomorrow looks like a day with 50s in the morning, but temperatures then falling into the 40s during the afternoon as cold air advection kicks in. Rain will end during the morning, but the clouds will linger throughout the day. And, a brisk north wind will make the afternoon temperature drop feel even colder.
WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY: It is back to reality with colder air setting in; we should be a few degrees below freezing at daybreak Wednesday. Then, expect generally sunny weather Wednesday with a high in the low 50s.
Another Gulf low will bring some clouds in here by late Thursday, Thursday night, into Friday morning, but the GFS continues to idea of the rain staying south of here, over the southern quarter of Alabama. Then, even colder air arrives Friday night.
CHILLY WEEKEND AHEAD: Looks like highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s over the weekend, but a decent amount of sun is likely both days. The ECMWF is colder and preferred for this forecast package. Some North Alabama communities (north of Birmingham) might have a hard time getting out of the 30s Saturday and Sunday.
CHRISTMAS WEEK: Watch the Weather Xtreme video for a day by day walk through; the GFS still shows a mid-week rain event on Wednesday (December 23), followed by cold and dry weather for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This, of course, is subject to change.
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. This week’s show is our winter storm preparedness show with Patrick Spoden from the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. He will recount the January ice storm that crippled much of Kentucky and talk about lessons learned. Did you know that the staff of the National Weather Service in Anchorage puts on a daily weather show on Alaskan Public Television? Our very own Todd Foisy is one of the presenters and will also talk about it on the 21st as our first ever Guest Panelist. The Guest WeatherBrain that night will be retiring SPC Director Joe Schaeffer.
I had a great time today seeing the kids at Fayette Head Start… be looking for them on the Pepsi KIDCAM today at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 News! The next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow….
