An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes…
I encourage you to scroll down and read all of the blog posts over the weekend… Bill Murray did a great job in covering the incredible tornado outbreak across the Great Plains of the United States. There are also many very interesting articles over on WeatherParty.com concerning the event.
STILL DRY: The good news is that our weather will be much more comfortable today and tomorrow as cooler and drier air moves into the state from the east. The bad news is that the long dry spell will continue.
The dewpoint has dropped to 29 at Anniston as I write this, and we expect a high today only in the 70s with very low humidity levels. And, by tomorrow morning most places around here will be in the mid to upper 40s. Not bad for May.
But we also have to remember these low humidity levels will really increase the danger of wildfires across the state; I sure would consider postponing any outdoor burning until later in the week.
LATER THIS WEEK: Heat and humidity levels will begin to rise over the latter half of the week; we should be in the mid 80s by Wednesday. We will also watch with interest a strong hybrid low in the Atlantic, which will near near Brunswick, Georgia by Thursday. All of the rain and wind with this feature should remain to the east of here, but there is some question about the models and how they are handling this feature as Brian Peters pointed out on his discussion yesterday.
Friday a weak front/trough will approach from the north, and has the potential to bring a few scattered showers to the state. The front stalls over Central Alabama over the weekend and dissipates, so we will still mention the chance of scattered showers on Saturday and Sunday, but I expect rainfall amounts to be very light and spotty. Another words, no real relief from the dry conditions.
LONG TERM: The GFS continues to show the main band of westerlies across North America well to the north of here, near the Canadian border, through May 22, so I am afraid we don’t have much hope for a major rain event for the next couple of weeks. Drought conditions will continue to worsen. It could very well be our next hope for a big rain event will come from the tropics in June.
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 hosted by David Black and featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. We will record a new show tonight, and that will be posted by daybreak tomorrow.
CLIMATE BRAINS: Another prominent scientist has come “out of the closet” and has declared the idea of catastrophic man-made global warming “absurd”. Hollywood entertainer Sheryl Crow, on the other hand, says ‘We have risen to great heights of arrogance in our refusal to acknowledge that the earth is changing’… What do YOU think? Let us hear from you on our Climate Brains forum.
I am headed to Marion County this morning; I will be speaking at Guin Elementary School. This town was just about wiped out on April 3, 1974 by a tornado similar to the Greensburg, Kansas tornado… I am looking forward to the visit. The next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 3:30 this afternoon!
