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THIS AFTERNOON: Guess we were due for a good forecast bust; when I wrote the morning discussion around 4:30 a.m. we had expected a mix of sun and clouds today, a few widely scattered showers, and a high in the mid 70s. That actually worked fine for parts of Central Alabama below Birmingham, but from I-20 north rain was much more widespread than forecast, and the evaporative cooling associated with that rain pushed temperatures down in the 50s, where they have remained all day long.
Radar continues to show most of the light rain north of I-20; this is in association with a short wave aloft, and a northward moving warm front. The rain will taper off this evening as the wave moves east, and the front moves north.
MAJOR SEVERE WEATHER EVENT UNFOLDING TO THE WEST: SPC maintains a high risk of severe weather for places like Oklahoma City and Tulsa for the rest of this afternoon and tonight… convection is expected to explode out that way in coming hours, and a PDS tornado watch is already in effect. Storm chasers are out in mass looking for the big one; let’s hope the big one doesn’t impact a populated area. We will be watching with interest.
REST OF THE WEEK: No doubt tomorrow will be much warmer as temperatures return to the 80s. We will hang on to a slight risk of a shower, but most communities will be dry. Highs will be in the 82 to 85 degree range. Then, dry and warm weather is the story Wednesday through Friday, with a good supply of sunshine each day under a strong upper ridge, along with highs in the 87 to 90 degree range. Higher humidity levels will surely make it feel like summer.
THE WEEKEND: A dying cold front will drift into Alabama this weekend; it will dissipate over the state, but could produce enough low level convergence for a few scattered showers Saturday and Sunday. Widespread rain is not expected, and highs will remain generally in the mid 80s.
VOODOO LAND: Still no sign of any significant severe weather or heavy rain episode through the rest of May based on the latest global model output. It sure seems like the worst of the spring tornado season is behind us, but we always have to stay on our toes through the entire month of May.
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I had a great time today visiting with the kids at Akron Elementary School down in West Alabama’s Hale County… 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 here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow…
