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THIS MORNING: A band of strong thunderstorms is pushing through Alabama early this morning. The NWS offices in Birmingham and Huntsville have been issuing severe thunderstorm warnings for counties ahead of the line; it is coming through the Birmingham metro area as I post this update around 6:00. The main issue is from strong, gusty winds along the line; a few trees and power lines have been knocked down over Northwest Alabama as the band of storms pushed through.
A slow weakening trend is likely, and these should fizzle out over East Alabama within the next couple of hours.
LATER TODAY: A surface front will become nearly stationary near the Tennessee border, so we remain in a moist, unstable airmass. Additional showers and storms will likely form this afternoon over the northern half of the state, and some of them could be strong to possibly severe, but this is nothing like last Friday. The stronger dynamics are far north of Alabama, and there is very little helicity, so tornadoes today won’t be a problem. The issue will be from hail and gusty winds from the stronger storms that form across our state, and the threat is somewhat marginal. SPC maintains a slight risk of severe weather for North-Central Alabama… storms will weaken this evening as the sun goes down.
TOMORROW: The front will still be hanging around, and we will mention a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms, mostly tomorrow afternoon. We stay warm and humid with a high in the low to mid 80s.
FRIDAY THROUGH EASTER SUNDAY: These three days look very warm and generally dry as the upper ridge from the Gulf moves northward into Alabama. The high will be in the mid to upper 80s each day… so this year Easter weekend will feel more like the Fourth of July. And, I guess an isolated shower could pop up somewhere during the afternoon hours, but most communities will be dry over the weekend.
NEXT WEEK: Sure looks like a significant severe weather event is ahead, initially west of Alabama Tuesday, then moving into the Deep South by Tuesday night and Wednesday. Way too early to be specific on the threat, but all of the players are on the field. Best hope for us is for the band of storms to come through during the pre-dawn hours Wednesday when the air tends to be more stable, but I get the idea it might be an event mainly during the daytime Wednesday. See the Weather Xtreme video for details.
VOODOO LAND: The core of the westerlies seems to shift north as May arrives, leaving us high and dry as the new month begins; again see the video for more.
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I will be speaking at the West Alabama Youth Leadership Banquet in Fayette this morning… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!
