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One more dry day as moisture levels increase with the surface high shifting off to our northeast. This means clouds and the potential for some isolated showers to our west and northwest but I think Central Alabama will remain essentially dry today. We’ll also see temperatures moderate with highs reaching near 60 degrees – about typical for this time of year.
And the moderated temperatures should be with us for the next 5 days or so – until next weekend. A combination of southwesterly flow aloft thanks to a ridge over the Gulf of Mexico plus a stalled front that remains perched just to our north-northwest means that showers will be a possibility almost any day. I think our better chances will come Monday and Tuesday and again Friday, but it would be hard to rule out a shower any day with a front nearby plus abundant low level moisture.
By mid week – Wednesday and Thursday – I think we’ll see temperatures flirting with 70 degrees for highs while lows are fairly comfortable in the 50s. But with the showery nature of the pattern for the next 5 days, rainfall will not be uniform and amounts are expected to be in the half inch rain with higher amounts possible as you go northward. Ohio River Valley to Northeast Arkansas could see 1 to 3 inch amounts.
The GFS forecast shows our Gulf ridge weakening next Saturday allowing the cold front to plunge through Alabama. This would mean a shift back to colder weather by Sunday with lows in the 30s and highs in the upper 50s – actually pretty close to average for that time of December.
Christmas day looks wet on this run with another front making it’s way across the Southeast. And another system is possible by the 28th. But the upper pattern suggest temperatures at or above seasonal values.
The NAO forecast is once again supportive of mild weather for the latter half of December, but it has also begun to suggest colder weather near the start of 2009.
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Thanks for tuning into the Weather Xtreme Video. James Spann will be back with the next edition first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll be filling in for Ashley at 5 and 10 pm this evening, so be sure to catch the latest news, weather, and sports on ABC 3340. I hope that you have a great Sunday. Godspeed.
-Brian-
