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May 13 Weather Xtreme Video - Afternoon Edition
The ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is a detailed weather discussion for Alabama and the Southeast U.S. which goes beyond the normal stuff you see on TV! From... From: abc3340 Views: 249 1 ratings Time: 06:01 More in News & Politics

An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

COOL DAY IN MAY: Valley Head, up in DeKalb County at the foot of Lookout Mountain, reports only 63 degrees at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon despite a sunny sky. That is about twenty degrees below average, and a sure sign we could see more mid to upper 30s in those colder Northeast Alabama pockets again early tomorrow. Most places will see a low between 42 and 47 degrees early tomorrow.

Most communities are somewhere between 68 and 72 degrees at mid-afternoon with a cobalt blue sky and low humidity.

WARMER DAYS: A warm-up begins tomorrow afternoon; the day will be sunny with a high in the low to mid 80s… and on Wednesday mid 80s are likely over all of North-Central Alabama with a partly sunny sky. And, good news for warm weather fans… no sign of any more late season cold snaps. Next time we have a chilly morning, most likely, will come in late September or October.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: The remnants of an upper low that has been over Mexico will bring the risk of just a few isolated showers to the state during the afternoon and evening hours on these two days, but rain will be light and spotty, and many places will stay dry. And, we stay warm with highs in the mid 80s.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: An upper ridge will mean warm, dry weather for the state with afternoon highs in the 85-88 degree range Saturday and Sunday; the days will be generally sunny with just a few fair weather cumulus clouds.

A weakening front could bring a few showers back to the state early next week, but nothing especially heavy, and nothing severe. In fact, we really don’t see any “high impact” events here over the next 10 to 15 days.

LET’S HEAD TO THE BEACH: Weather along the Gulf Coast from Panama City west to Gulf Shores can’t get much better… expect sunny days and fair nights through the weekend; highs along the immediate coast will be in the 70s, with 80s just a mile or two inland. The sea water temperature at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab this afternoon is 70 degrees.

See the Weather Xtreme video for the latest maps, graphics, and details.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. We will produce this week’s episode tonight at 8:30 p.m. CT… you can watch it live on our digital weather channel, James Spann 24/7, or on the web here.

CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…

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Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow….

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Well, well, I am finally getting around to starting this little project that I had promised months and months ago. Bill Murray has been after me lately to get it underway. This feature will not be every day and I promise to not post it when we have busy weather days and I will also not post if we have any type of severe weather.

However, the items I post about here will be some of the stories that I had already planned to include in my weather book (if I ever write it) about my experiences in 32 years of weather in the U.S.W.B. and National Weather Service–all in the Birmingham office. The first one this morning is just a couple of items:

* Have you ever seen such a mixed up winter and spring? Next time you hear us discuss (cold core upper low) run and hide because forecasting those is almost impossible. There were widespread missed forecasts about the last one from all parts of the country.

* The winter has been so severe across the Plains and Midwest and Canada that the ice build up got so thick on part of Lake Superior and a southern Canadian lake that the ice decided to move. It pressed southward and virtually destroyed a number of homes in Southern Canada and Northern Minnesota.

* A number of homes have been destroyed in the Los Angeles area when the homes just decided to sink. It was not an earthquake but apparently the excessive rain over several months softened the ground enough.

* Numerous cities are reporting excessive rain amounts this winter and spring, including most of Alabama.

* Looking at the fresh weather maps more adverse weather is in store for the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and New England.

NOTE:  This is just a few items to get me started. These will not be in my book, but future posts will be about some of the very strange happenings that I witnessed in 32 years,  including writing severe weather warnings with no radar and getting chewed out because I did warn during a super outbreak of tornadoes. Life goes on and I can take the good criticism and the bad. Some of that in those 32 years was unbelievable. Let me know if you think you will like this new feature because I can bail out at a moment’s notice.

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An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

TOO COLD FOR MID-MAY: Here are some temperatures across the great state of Alabama at daybreak…

Black Creek (near Gadsden) 34
Fort Payne 36
Valley Head 36
Cullman 37
Crossville 37
Gadsden 37
Concord 38
Fayette 39
Center Point 40
Anniston 41
Birmingham 44
Tuscaloosa 45

Birmingham’s record low for May 13 is 38 (set in 1960)… so no record “officially”, but clearly this is an amazingly cold May morning. Our Skywatcher at Black Creek, Vic Bell, sent in this photo of frost at his place…

THE DAY AHEAD: We rise into the low 70s today with maximum available sunshine. Still well below average; we should be at 80 degrees this time of the year. Tonight will be another very cool night; most places drop into the 40s early tomorrow.

WARMING UP: A warming trend begins tomorrow afternoon as we rise into the low 80s with a sunny sky. Wednesday will be partly to mostly sunny with a high in the mid 80s. Then, on Thursday, we will introduce the risk of a few scattered showers as the remnants of an upper low now over Mexico will pass overhead. The best chance of a shower will be from about I-20 north, and rain amounts will be rather light and spotty.

FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: Looks warm and mostly dry for now. I guess we might consider a slight risk of a shower Friday, but the chance of any one spot getting wet so small it really isn’t worth the mention for now. The weekend will be the warmest so far this year, with highs between 85 and 88 degrees with a good supply of sunshine both Saturday and Sunday thanks to an upper ridge overhead.

GULF COAST WEATHER: Lots of questions about Gulf Shores this week since the Hangout Music Festival is this weekend. The weather could not be better… sunny days, fair nights all the way through the weekend. Highs on the immediate coast will be in the 75-79 degree range, with 80s just inland. The sea water temperature this morning at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is a cool 70 degrees.

NEXT WEEK: A weakening front could bring a few showers to North Alabama early next week on Monday…. and no sign of any severe weather problems for the next 10-15 days. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and details.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. We will produce this week’s show tonight at 8:30 p.m. CT… you can watch on our digital weather channel, James Spann 24/7, or on the web here.

CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…

Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Instagram

I will be speaking to a group of senior adults in Homewood today… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 or so this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

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May 13 Weather Xtreme Video - Morning Edition
The ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is a detailed weather discussion for Alabama and the Southeast U.S. which goes beyond the normal stuff you see on TV! From... From: abc3340 Views: 349 3 ratings Time: 05:30 More in News & Politics

An absolutely beautiful Mother’s Day is in progress across Central Alabama, with near total sunshine and temperatures were warming through the 60s, heading for a rendezvous with highs right around 70F.  Winds are out of the northwest at 10-15 mph with low humidity, providing a refreshing quality to the air.

A few patches of cirrostratus clouds were streaming from west to east across South Central Alabama, but they should continue to edge southward through the afternoon.

Tonight will be a chilly night, with lows right around 40F.  Normally colder locations will drop into the 30s as winds go calm under clear skies.  There could be a little light frost in low-lying areas.

RINSE, REPEAT:  High pressure will remain in control of Alabama’s weather through midweek, with near total sunshine.  Highs will be in the lower 70s Monday, upper 70s on Tuesday and will be back in the 80s by Wednesday.

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An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

Cooler weather is returning once again as May shapes up as a fairly cool month. This cool spell appears likely to be rather short lived with just a couple of cool days to enjoy.

A surface high pressure system will be settling into the Southeast US over the next couple of days as the center of the surface high migrate from Iowa today to Central Mississippi by midday on Monday. A fairly deep upper trough will move off the East Coast by Tuesday, but as it does a strong northwesterly flow will usher in some very cool air. Monday morning appears likely to be the coolest with morning lows dipping pretty close to 40 degrees. This means that some of those typically cooler locations are likely to drop into the 30s. While I do not expect to see any freezing values, it is possible those colder and sheltered locations may see some light frost. Yes, it is nearly a third of the way through May.

An upper ridge moves over us Tuesday and Wednesday so we should see a nice warming trend as we see highs climb back into the lower 80s by Wednesday. The approach of a weak upper trough on Thursday as the surface high settles over North Florida will signal a return of moisture and the possibility of daily scattered showers through the weekend. By Sunday we see a strong upper trough coming out of the northern Rockies into the Central Plains which should bring a surface low into southern Minnesota with a cold front trailing southwestward into Texas. But we should remain in a summer-ish like pattern with small chances for mainly afternoon showers.

Nice to see very little severe weather potential as defined by SPC. We have been fortunate to have a somewhat uneventful spring severe weather season, and I hope this pattern continues as the severe weather season/potential swings out of the Southeast and into the Central Plains.

Almost no rain for the next five days until we see scattered showers possibly on Thursday, and even then the rainfall amounts will be light.

The GFS long range projections are holding onto the idea of another shot at some chilly air around the 22nd of May. This should present us with some rain chances on the 20th and 21st and perhaps a severe weather threat, too. The idea of a rather huge upper ridge over the Central US May 26th and 27th is a little watered down. We are still likely to be under weak ridging, but this run of the GFS puts the big upper ridge much further west with a complex pattern with an upper low undercutting that ridge. But we expect changes this far out!

And you can follow news and weather updates from ABC 33/40 on Twitter here. Stay in the know by following the whole gang – here’s the list…

James Spann Charles Daniel Ashley Brand J. B. Elliott Bill Murray Brian Peters E-Warn (AL wx watches/warnings)

I had a wonderful time working at the Buck Creek Festival yesterday and Friday. Our festival committee did a great job of putting together another fabulous festival, our 12th. Lots of great food, crafts, kids activities, and tremendous music. Two small lines of showers even helped out by dropping the temperature about 10 degrees with dumping more than a little light rain which dampened the dust! Tired from this event, but already looking forward to the 13th festival in 2014! James Spann will have the next edition of the Weather Xtreme Video by 7 am Monday. Enjoy this wonderfully cool Mothers Day. Godspeed.

-Brian-

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May 12 Weather Xtreme Video
The ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is a detailed weather discussion for Alabama and the Southeast U.S. which goes beyond the normal stuff you see on TV! From... From: ABC 33/40 Views: 188 1 ratings Time: 06:53 More in News & Politics

QUICK RADAR CHECK: Most of the showers have pushed southeast of Birmingham. South of the Interstate 20 corridor looks to be to areas that still have a chance for some showers this evening. All showers will continue to push to the southeast through the evening hours and should begin to wind down once the sun sets.

ON THE MAPS: One cold front is currently over central Alabama and has been the focal point for today’s scattered showers. This front is bringing with it some slightly cooler and drier air. The second front over northern Arkansas will catch up with the first front and provide a reinforcing shot of the much cooler and drier air. High pressure behind the front will settle in across the Southeast and provide some truly beautiful, calm and wonderful weather for the next several days.

CLEARING SKIES: A look at the visible satellite this evening, shows skies are beginning to clear out across northwest portions of the state. We are seeing a few peeks of sunshine in Central Alabama as well You can see back to the northwest a line of clouds shows where the second, reinforcing cold front is currently at; across the Missouri Bootheel and northern Arkansas. That front will be passing through the state overnight, clearing us out and cooling us down.

OVERNIGHT & INTO TOMORROW: Skies will be clearing tonight; cool and drier air will be oozing into the state overnight. Tomorrow morning, there could be a few lingering clouds, but by mid-morning abundant sunshine and very pleasant temperatures will take hold of the Alabama atmosphere. It will be a beautiful day across the state and will be the first of several days in a row of similar weather.

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A line of thunderstorms is making its way into Jefferson County and will be impacting Birmingham within the hour. These storms are along the front and are not severe. They are producing gusty winds, very heavy rain and lightning. This is the last of the activity we are expecting to see as the winds will turn from the northwest behind this line. Dew points are already falling across north Alabama as a drier air mass makes its way into Alabama.

Ahead of this line, isolated to scattered showers and a few thunderstorms will continue in the warm and muggy air mass in place. All convective activity will continue push southeast this evening and will wind down and exit the state overnight.

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As expected this afternoon showers and a few thunderstorms have developed across north central Alabama. Nothing strong or severe, just some afternoon thundershowers with some gusty winds and heavy rain. This activity is moving rapidly to the southeast and and will not be impacting any one location for very long.

Showers are moving into Birmingham currently and stretch down to Tuscaloosa. Additional showers have developed behind this initial line and we are seeing them in Lamar and Fayette Counties. Areas from Cullman to Gadsden as well as locations around Wedowee are seeing more intense showers currently.

We can expect scattered showers through the rest of the afternoon and evening hours. This unsettled weather will be on its way out of here overnight as a front swings through the state bringing cooler and drier air for the second half of the weekend.

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A thin line of showers has developed along the first front that is pushing across Central Alabama. Nothing intense but there could be some rumbles of thunder with this line. This activity is pushing off to the southeast and will be impacting Birmingham over the next couple of hours.

Out ahead of the front, isolated showers have developed as well. The unsettled weather will continue through the rest of the afternoon and into the evening hours.

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A few isolated showers are beginning to pop up across north central Alabama this afternoon. We are expecting more showers and possibly a few thunderstorms to develop heading through the rest of the afternoon. A cold front continues to push southeast across Alabama today. Along and out ahead of the front, a warm, soupy air mass is in place and is favorable for some convective activity.

These showers will pass through any location they are affecting rather quickly and should not cause to much of an issue with any outdoor activities that are ongoing across the state. Some storms could produce lightning and gusty winds, but severe weather is not expected today.

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An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

Looks like the coolness of May will be continuing for the next few days as a new shot of cool air promises to drop temperatures back again with some cool mornings ahead. But for today, the first of two cold fronts will be passing through Central Alabama. Along and just ahead of that front we will see, and are already seeing, some scattered showers developing. It appears that the greatest risk for showers will come along and east of the Interstate 59 corridor. And shower chances will be diminishing from west to east during the early afternoon.

But the cool air hangs back and does not arrive in full force until Monday. The upper trough sharpens up on Mother’s Day, so it will be slightly cooler as the cooler air arrives, but Monday morning promises to be our coolest with lows dipping well back into the 40s. In fact, I suspect that some of those typically cooler spots will see lows in the upper 30s. The upper trough moves off the East Coast on Tuesday but we stay under a northwesterly flow, so we should see temperatures begin to edge upward.

The upper ridge if over us on Wednesday while the closed low over northern Mexico ejects eastward across Texas and Oklahoma. The upper trough along with moisture return to our west should produce showers over eastern Texas and Oklahoma while we stay dry and warm. But that trough crosses the Mississippi River on Thursday bringing scattered showers back into the forecast. The upper pattern goes slightly northwesterly while at the surface a weak frontal boundary will settled into the area. This will keep our weather a little unsettled with small chances for showers as we head into the weekend, but nothing that looks like a wash-out.

Long range model projections suggest another big shot of cold air as a deep trough develops over the Mississippi River Valley around May 22nd. This would bring rain and perhaps some severe weather possibilities to the area around the 20th and 21st. But by the end of the forecast cycle, we are back to a warm pattern with a strong ridge nosing all the way into South Central Canada.

And you can follow news and weather updates from ABC 33/40 on Twitter here. Stay in the know by following the whole gang – here’s the list…

James Spann Charles Daniel Ashley Brand J. B. Elliott Bill Murray Brian Peters E-Warn (AL wx watches/warnings)

I’ll be at the Buck Creek Festival in Old Town Helena today and tonight. We have a great line-up of music with plenty of activities for the kids, crafts and vendors for some great Mother’s Day shopping, and lots of great food to sample, so be sure to come on out for this wonderful free, family-friendly event. Looks like the weather will be great. If you do, be sure to stop by the stage area and say hello. I anticipate posting the next Weather Xtreme Video first thing on Sunday morning. Godspeed.

-Brian-

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May 11 Weather Xtreme Video
The ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is a detailed weather discussion for Alabama and the Southeast U.S. which goes beyond the normal stuff you see on TV! From... From: abc3340 Views: 9 1 ratings Time: 06:27 More in News & Politics

A quick look at the radar tonight shows showers and some thunderstorms across north Mississippi that are trying to make their way into West Alabama. A few of these storms could pack a punch, but none are severe and we are not expecting any storms to be severe for the rest of tonight.

These storms should be very similar to what we experienced this morning across West Alabama. Heavy rains, some gusty winds, possibly some small hail and dangerous lightning with some very loud rumbles of thunder.

The unsettled weather will stick around for the first part of your Saturday until a cold front pushing south makes its way across the state.

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May 10 Weather Xtreme Video - Afternoon Edition
The ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is a detailed weather discussion for Alabama and the Southeast U.S. which goes beyond the normal stuff you see on TV! From... From: abc3340 Views: 634 2 ratings Time: 05:39 More in News & Politics

An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

RADAR CHECK: At mid-afternoon the radar is relatively quiet across North and Central Alabama. A large MCS (mesoscale convective system) moved across the Northern Gulf of Mexico, blocking the moisture inflow up into this part of the state. The sky is generally cloudy, although the sun is out in a few spots over Northwest Alabama; temperatures are mostly in the 70s.

TONIGHT/TOMORROW: The high resolution NAM shows showers and storms increasing over the northern half of Alabama tonight in the 9pm-3am time frame… but the evening should remain mostly dry.

For tomorrow, we will maintain a chance of occasional showers and possibly a thunderstorm… the most widespread rain should be along and south of I-20, with showers over North Alabama more scattered in nature. It won’t rain all day, and while some thunder is possible severe weather is not expected.

If you have something planned outdoors tomorrow, just be aware that some rain is possible at just about any hour of the day. Rain ends tomorrow night as a cold front moves south.

SUNDAY: Sunshine returns in full force Sunday, along with a fresh north breeze. The high will be only in the low 70s, and some communities north of Birmingham won’t make it out of the 60s.

CHILLY MORNINGS: We are still looking at lows well down in the 40s early Monday and Tuesday morning of next week… and some potential for the normally colder spots reaching the upper 30s; something that rarely happens in the middle of May in Alabama. Afternoons will be pleasant… in fact we should warm to near 80 Tuesday afternoon with s strong May sun.

Some hint a few showers could return to Alabama toward the end of next week, but the 12Z GFS is less than impressive with rain chances. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, details, and graphics.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.

CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…

Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Instagram

I enjoyed seeing the Chelsea High School seniors today… look for my next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. Monday… Brian Peters will have the video updates tomorrow and Sunday. Enjoy the weekend!

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May 10 Weather Xtreme Video - Morning Edition
The ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is a detailed weather discussion for Alabama and the Southeast U.S. which goes beyond the normal stuff you see on TV! From... From: abc3340 Views: 911 2 ratings Time: 07:08 More in News & Politics

An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

WET START: A large mass of rain moved into West Alabama during the pre-dawn hours, and the rain was moving into the Birmingham metro at 5:30. There is some thunder/lightning involved, but nothing severe. SPC does maintain a severe thunderstorm watch for much of SE Louisiana until 10 a.m.

We will forecast periods of rain and a few thunderstorms through tonight. There will be some decent breaks in the rain, but the sky will remain cloudy through the day with a high in the 70s.

SATURDAY: Not much change tomorrow. Rain is likely at times; some thunder, but no severe storms. The high resolution NAM continues to suggest the most widespread rain will be along and south of I-20 (Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Anniston and points south), with showers more scattered in nature over the northern third of the state. If you have something planned outdoors, just be ready for occasional rain during the day.

Rain amounts between now and tomorrow night will be generally in the 1/2 to 3/4 inch range; heavier amounts are possible over Southwest Alabama.

The rain will end late tomorrow night as a cold front pushes through.

BRIGHTER WEATHER FOR MOTHER’S DAY: Sunday looks like a delightful day with ample sunshine, a fresh north breeze, low humidity, and a high between 70 and 75 degrees. Some places over the Tennessee Valley might not get out of the 60s.

CHILLY MORNINGS EARLY NEXT WEEK: Still looks like we are headed well down in the 40s both Monday and Tuesday morning. Not sure we break any records, but we will be close. And, I expect we might hear of a few upper 30s across the coldest valleys of North Alabama. The good news is that the air will be very dry, meaning it will heat up nicely during the daytime hours; the high Monday will be in the low 70s, and despite the morning chill we expect an afternoon high around 80 on Tuesday.

Should be hard to find a decent cloud in the Alabama sky Monday through Wednesday… a cold front will bring a chance of showers late in the week on Friday, but it doesn’t look like a big rain event. See the Weather Xtreme video for the maps, graphics, and details.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.

CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…

Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Instagram

I will be speaking to the Chelsea High School seniors today as the 2012-13 school year is winding down in a hurry. Look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 4:00 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

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