That upper level cold core low-pressure area that we have been jittery about for several days was centered over NW Alabama near Hamilton this morning. There has been an amazing change in temperature at that level. For example, yesterday morning it was 46 degrees over Birmingham at about 18,000 feet. This morning it was 4 below zero and winds were generally over 60 mph. (These temperatures are farenheit.)
Even at 10,000 feet over Birmingham this morning it is 23 degrees and it is just above freezing at 5,000 feet.
Would you believe that if the temperature could have been about 7 or 8 degrees lower at the surface early this morning, we could have seen a few big wet snowflakes?
Late this morning, light rain was limited mostly to West/Central and NW Alabama, generally from Pickens County northward to Franklin County. The rain was moving north. Over to the west, there were some moderate showers in the Memphis area and those were moving SW and south. That shows you the circulation around the low.
There has been some good additional rain amounts in Alabama in the last 24 hours. We list a few:
1.16 Hamilton
0.35 Cullman
0.97 Huntsville
0.19 Birmingham
1.06 Bankhead National Forest
0.57 Muscle Shoals
0.63 Carbon Hill
1.10 Haleyville
0.60 Jasper
0.44 Livingston
Many other areas got light rain. These extra rain amounts are exceedingly good news, because it is keeping the topsoil wet and giving it no chance to dry out. Aiding that also is the cloud cover and cool temperatures. On a hot summer day with sunshine and temperatures around 90, the topsoil can dry out much faster than most folks think.
AMAZING LOW TEMPERATURE
It dropped to 39 degrees this morning at Georgetown in South Georgia and Crestview in extreme North Florida just south of the Alabama border. In North/Central Alabama, we could have dropped a few degrees lower than that if we did not have the all-night cloud cover. Brisk winds are blowing across the state this morning and, while out walking my little puppy, I actually saw people with sweaters and jackets. It was perfect short-sleeve weather for me. It has to get down in the 30s with the wind blowing for me to even think about a coat.
NATIONAL RAIN AMOUNTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS
1.14 Baltimore
1.73 Charleston, S.C.
1.48 Charleston, W. Va.
2.78 Key West
2.88 Norfolk
1.87 Richmond
1.91 Washington (Ronald Reagan Airport)
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Thankfully, the Santa Ana winds have abated a bit. During the worst of the wind, there was a recorded wind gust of 111 mph on Laguna Peak in Southern California. The relative humidity dropped as low as 4% at some weather stations in the fire-prone areas. That can dry out your throat and make it feel like leather in no time flat. Take it from me. I have been in the Nevada/Arizona desert and woke up one morning to a 6:00 a.m. humidity of 6% while we were guests of my in-laws in Las Vegas. Made me want to drink 5 bottles of Buffalo Rock in a row.
ANOTHER POSSIBLE TRAGEDY AHEAD
Hundreds of square miles of Southern California have been scoured by these fires. There is a possibility of some huge killer mudslides if there is a big rain event this winter. There is nothing to hold back the water. I really feel for those folks and I sure hope they catch the arsonist that they suspicion that set one or two of the major fires.
