Downright springlike across Alabama this afternoon. We have not seen temperatures this warm in a long time.
Some 1 o’clock samples:
63 in Huntsville
66 in Gadsden
67 in Anniston and Birmingham
68 in Tuscaloosa
69 in Dothan, Troy, Montgomery
70 in Mobile
All of those temperatures with brisk SW winds.
Light rain has spread into part of West Central and NW Alabama. Light rain was falling at Muscle Shoals Airport, but some of the rain you can see on radar is not yet getting to the ground.
That will be changing as showers will be increasing in number, along with some thunderstorms tonight.
SEVERE WEATHER THREAT
New models still point to Sunday as our better chance of severe weather. Remember, that is still five days away and there can easily be changes…both in time frames and intensity. The main surface low is projected to cross the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle and then NE across Wichita and Topeka, across Iowa, to eventually near Milwaukee.
The most ideal path for severe here would be a surface low tracking across Arkansas, SE Missouri, maybe West Tennessee and Kentucky.
BUT…this ia a very strong storm system in the making–more like Spring than late Winter. There is a whole lot more involved than the surface low…such as shear, instability, low-level jets, you name it. The whole upper air profile will need to be watched closely.There is a chance that the best energy will pass to the NW and north of our area but the system will still be quite strong moving through here. Latest hints are for a squall line for us. But individual cells forming out ahead of a strong line of storms can be very dangerous.
We will watch and wait….or is it wait and watch?
James Spann will discuss this more in his afternoon video update.
