I have been doing the weather on television in Alabama for 27 years, and for all those years I have longed for a live, dedicated camera in Gadsden. This northeast Alabama city in Etowah County offers an incredible diversity of weather conditions. Sometimes during the winter season, our friends in Gadsden can be dealing with snow and ice while the rest of the state simply has a cold, rainy day. Also, the “wedge effect” is a big deal in Gadsden; this is when cold air drains down the eastern slopes of the Appalachian mountains, moving into Northeast Alabama. This can keep temperatures considerable colder there. And, of course, like any other place Gadsden has its fair share of severe storms.

We are delighted that our newest addition to the ABC 33/40 SKYCAM network is now active and watching over Gadsden 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The camera is near Noccalulla Falls, and overlooks downtown Gadsden and the Coosa River. We thank the City of Gadsden, Mayor Steve Means, and Etowah County EMA Director Marie Bankson for their help in getting this site; without them it would not have happened. And, our partner for the entire project statewide is Compass Bank. They stepped up to the plate and made the whole thing happen.

The view from the Gadsden camera is simply spectacular. And, like the other cameras on the network, we have full control in the weather office here with complete pan and zoom ability. Of course, like all of the other SKYCAM sites, we have a complete set of weather instruments so we can monitor weather conditions. The data, along with still images from the camera, will be available soon (hopefully within the next 36 hours on the ABC 33/40 web site here"

http://www.abc3340.com/static/skycams/skycamsmain.html

And, look for more SKYCAM sites coming online within the next two weeks, in places like Gulf Shores, Clanton, Cullman, and Jasper!

The Monday afternoon map discussion video is on the server:

http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb

Don't forget, our map discussions are now available via iTunes... just search for ABC 33/40 within iTunes and you can find it there, along with all of our other "on the go" video and audio products.

GADSDEN SKYCAM: Too cool... our Gadsden SKYCAM is now up and running. The images are really nice; the camera is around Noccalulla Falls, and the view of downtown Gadsden and the Coosa River is simply stunning. We will try and get the weather data and still images on the web within the next day or so... it will be here:

http://www.abc3340.com/static/skycams/skycamsmain.html

Many more SKYCAM sites will be coming on line in the next few weeks... stay tuned...

MID-WEEK: The weather here should be mostly dry through Wednesday, although you can't rule out a few isolated afternoon showers or storms, especially up around the Tennessee Valley. Temperatures will warm to near 80 degrees, and some spots might reach the low to mid 80s. Most of the good wave action will be well to the north of Alabama tomorow and Wednesday.... we will keep an eye on storm areas to the north, but they should pretty much fade away as they try to reach us.

THURSDAY: The latest models aren't exactly bullish on rain Thursday, but we will bring in the chance of scattered showers and storms as moisture levels begin to increase.

FRIDAY/SATURDAY: This two day period looks wet. Perhaps the heaviest and most widespread rain will come from about 3:00 p.m. Friday through 12:00 noon Saturday. A significant upper trough will bring good dynamic support, and a surface low is forecast to form on the front over us Friday night. Looks like rainfall amounts of one to two inches will be possible.

Severe weather, while not out of the question, doesn't look too likely at this point with the GFS showing limited instability. This might change as we get closer to the event, however.

SUNDAY: Looks like Sunday will be delightful day for the final round of the Regions Charity Golf Classic at Ross Bridge. Lots of sun; highs in the low to mid 70s.

LONG RANGE: Interesting to note the big 5880 meter high showing up on the 500 mb GFS charts around May 12... this "588 circle" is to the west of Alabama; lets hope that doesn't stick around through the summer. It is crushed a few days later, however, on the 12Z GFS. That kind of upper high in mid-summer can mean some very hot and very dry weather here.

Actually heights in the medium range aren't too high around here; seems like the GFS likes the idea of a mean upper trough over the eastern U.S.... hopefully that will mean comfortable temperatures continuing into mid-May.

I will have the next map discussion video available by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow!

RAINFALL 2006 FIRST FOUR MONTHS
27.20 inches at Birmingham Airport...an excess of 6.77 inches
15.45 inches at Huntsville Airport...a shortage of 6.24 inches
15.60 at Montgomery/Dannelly Field...a shortage of 5.66 inches
10.70 at Mobile...a shortage of 12.41 inches, less than half normal
0.89 at Corpus Christi...a shortage of 6.36 inches (All of South Texas very dry)
0.77 at McAllen, Tex...a shortage of 3.82 inches
5.12 inches in Miami
10.52 in New Orleans...a shortage of 11.08 inches
9.42 at Baton Rouge...a shortage of 12.50 inches
1.54 at Amarillo...short by 3.21 inches, lots of wildfires in the Panhandle this year
9.25 in Houston...short by 4.37 inches
0.31 in Albuquerque...a deficiency of 1.73 inches
3.47 in Flagstaff...a deficiency of 5.21 inches
16.30 in Nashville...a slight deficiency of 0.16 inches

PRESENT TEMPERATURES...RANDOM SELECTION
91 below zero at Vostok, Antarctica (now autumn there)
9 at Resolute, Nunavut, light snow (North Canada)
28 at Ojmjakon, Russia (billed as the coldest continuously inhabited spot on earth)
52 in Ogden, Utah
14 below at Summit Greenland, atop a thick, very thick, ice cap
36 atop Mt. Washington, N.H., windiest spot on earth
100 in Basrah, Iraq (humidity 13 percent)
93 in Baghdad
34 inside Yellowstone National Park at Yellowstone Lake

A LITTLE MORE STUFF
44 mph was one of the stronger wind gusts atop Mt. Cheaha Sunday
106 was the hottest in the USA Sunday at Death Valley
19 was the coldest in the Lower 48 this morning at West Yellowstone, Mont.
13 below was the coldest in Alaska this morning
8 is how many ballgames I played with Little Miss Molly since yesterday
3 of them ran extra innings and she and I were both panting

Still going through all of the viewer pictures from the severe weather back in April. This is a great image of a tornado near Ohatchee April 21 at 6:44 p.m.:



Thanks to April Wilkerson for this image of the tornado near the Neely Henry Dam!

The Monday morning map discussion video is on the server:

http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb

After a cool, windy, and wet day yesterday we will promise much better weather today statewide. The big NASCAR race at Talladega yesterday was a wash-out, but there should be no problems at the Superspeedway today. After morning clouds, the sky should become partly sunny today and temperatures will rise well into the 70s.

MID-WEEK: For tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday, the forecast will sound a little like summer, although temperatures won't be as hot as summer. Highs will be near 80, with a daily mix of sun and the risk of "scattered afternoon thunderstorms". The best chance of scattered storms will be along and north of I-20. Most of the good wave action and dynamics will remain north of here on these three days, but a few thunderstorm areas could creep into north Alabama. And, with sufficient moisture and the daytime heating process, scattered convection will be possible.

FRIDAY/SATURDAY: Another big Alabama sports event is ahead; the Regions Charity Golf Classic is this weekend (the former Bruno's Memorial Classic) at the new Ross Bridge Resort. And, unfortunately we will have to mention some rain on both Friday and Saturday as a strong upper trough develops to the west of Alabama.

Periods of rain and a few thunderstorms are likely, especially Friday afternoon, Friday night, and into Saturday morning. For now the severe weather threat looks relatively low with only marginal instability values, but some pretty decent rain amounts will be possible (1 to 2 inches).

SUNDAY: The good news for tournament planners is that Sunday, for now, looks like a beautiful day with ample sunshine and comfortable temperatures (highs in the 70 to 75 degree range).

WET YEAR: A quick peek at rain stats for Birmingham reveals that we have a total of 27.20" since January 1, which is a whopping 6.77" above normal.

DRY YEAR: Quite a different story down south; Mobile's total for the year is only 10.70", a deficiency of over 12 inches.

I will be paying a visit today to South Shades Crest Elementary in Hoover... then its on to the office early this afternoon where I will have the afternoon video posted by 3:30. Don't forget, we have all of our video and audio products available on iTunes... just search for ABC 33/40 in the podcast section!