An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player below, and on iTunes…
The record high for today in Birmingham is 85 degrees set way back in 1928… I think we break that record today. We are forecasting 87 today for Birmingham, two degrees over the record, and 17 degrees above normal. We should also mention that is really close to the hottest temperature ever recorded in March in Birmingham; 90 degrees from March 21, 1907.
While we are dealing with the very warm and dry weather, the Rocky Mountains are being buried by big time snow again today with very cold temperatures, underneath the massive upper trough out that way. That system also produced quite a tornado outbreak last night; 65 tornado reports were received by SPC (the Storm Prediction Center)… two people were killed in the Oklahoma panhandle; the first tornado fatalities in Oklahoma in almost six years. Read more over on WeatherParty.com.
TO THE EAST: We also note very chilly air over the eastern part of Canada and the Northeast U.S.; this cooler air is moving down the eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains, and will move into Alabama tomorrow. This will drop high temperatures a good ten degrees; we expect mid 70s tomorrow afternoon. Some communities near the Georgia border might not get out of the 60s.
THE WEEKEND: The big trough out west is in no hurry; so at this time Saturday looks dry with a high in the upper 70s, possibly around 80. Then, the long awaited round of showers and thunderstorms will arrive during the day Sunday. For now the chance of severe weather looks minimal with the main upper dynamics passing to the north of Alabama and marginal instability values. But, we will sure take the rain; looks like rain amounts of 1/4 to 1/2 inch are likely. Not a drought buster, but enough to settle the pollen and dust.
NEXT WEEK: The surface front will stall out somewhere over Alabama Sunday night, and a few showers are possible Monday and Tuesday along and south of the old boundary. The 00Z GFS hints the best chance of those will be over the southern half of the state. Then, another front moving in from the north will bring another chance of showers and thunderstorms by Tuesday night and Wednesday.
The 00Z GFS shows a nice pop of colder air moving into Alabama around April 7; if the model is correct we might get down in the 30s one morning with that airmass. Then, several rain opportunities are ahead for mid-April. Once again, no sign of the upper ridge around here in April which will mean wetter weather for our state with occasional cool snaps following the rain events.
This morning I will be speaking at Vincent Elementary School in Shelby County… and this evening I am scheduled to do the 5:00 and 6:00 weather live from the Birmingham Boat Show at the BJCC. But, in between I will be able to crank out the afternoon Weather Xtreme video, which should be on the server by 3:30 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!
