Today is the average date of the last freeze in Birmingham. But, of course, our weather is rarely “average”. Freezing temperatures have been recorded as late as April 23, and some pretty remarkable big late season snow events are also on the books. So, for summer fans your time is coming, but it is a little early for the tank tops and sun tan lotion.

The latest snow on record here was on April 25, 1910 when flurries were flying as far south as Birmingham. The latest significant snow on record was on April 3, 1987, when 5 inches was measured at the Birmingham Airport. That same storm produced 60 inches of snow at Newfound Gap in the North Carolina mountains, and 25 inches at Charleston, West Virginia. Here in Alabama, ten inches fell at Valley Head, with 9 inches just down the road at Fort Payne. Many people here called this storm the “Dogwood Snowstorm” since the dogwoods were in full bloom at the time. Unfortunately, those of us in the weather office didn’t go a very good job of handling that event; we figured we might have a little light rain or a few flurries, but 5 inches was not in the plan. Part of the problem is not having enough guts to forecast a significant amount of snow in April!

While April can serve up some cold weather, it is best known for severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flooding. Some of us (myself included) are old enough to remember the “Superoutbreak” of tornadoes April 3-4, 1974. That one event produced 148 tornadoes across the eastern part of the U.S. (and into Canada), and was responsible for about 335 deaths and over 6,000 injuries. Here in Alabama, the town of Guin was almost wiped out that night by an F5 tornado. In all 80 people died in our state that long night. April 2006 is just around the corner; we have to wonder what is ahead this year!

No, I am not moving to Atlanta.

This is for blog readers in the Atlanta TV market (which, by the way, includes Cleburne and Randolph Counties in Alabama).

How do Atlanta TV stations handle severe weather coverage?

What is good, what is bad?

Just working on a project here and I need to hear some comments. You can post them here on the blog, or send them to me:

blog@jamesspann.com

Thanks!

James Spann

The Wednesday afternoon map discussion video is on the server:

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

Sure looks like we will have a hard time reaching the 60 degree mark until early next week. A very chilly weather pattern will continue into the weekend with temperatures about 15 degrees below normal for late March in Alabama.

And, once again we stress that we will have the potential of freezing temperatures and frost every morning all the way through Sunday, with lows in the 25 to 35 degree range (generally speaking).

Clouds will move into the state tomorrow with a fairly strong short wave, but no surface moisture means little chance of significant rain. I continue to mention the chance of a few sprinkles south of Birmingham tomorrow evening, but I think you will have to go down to the Gulf coast to find measurable rain.

NEXT RAIN EVENT: Still looks like the next rain event for Alabama will be Tuesday of next week, but the system looks pretty weak for late March. Rain not too heavy, and no severe weather threat if the GFS is correct. But, at least we should be in the 60s by Monday and Tuesday of next week.

LONG RANGE: The GFS is advertising rain/storm events here around March 31 and April 4. No confidence in timing or details at this phase of the game.

TV SPECIAL: Don't forget to watch our Storm Alert 2006 TV special on ABC 33/40 this Sunday evening from 6:00 until 7:00 p.m. We will feature all of the video elements we used on the Storm Alert 2006 tour across Alabama last month. Bill Castle is putting this special together; he is the best. If you are out of market, I will post the show to the Internet sometime next week over on our video page.

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

* Few is how many snow flurries reported by one of our blog readers in Cullman at mid-morning

* 0 is the amount of snow on the ground at Birmingham (will it ever, ever snow again here

* 43% is how much of the Lower 48 States now covered by snow

* 35% was how much was covered last month for comparision

* 208 inches of snow now on the ground at Leavitt Lake, Calif., elevation 9399 feet

* 201 inches is the snow depth at Paradise Ranger Station, Mt. Rainier, Wash.

* 191 inches on the ground at Kimberly Mine, Utah, elevation 9277 feet

* 137 inches of snow at Tony Grove Lake, Utah, up in Logan Canyon near the Idaho border. A beautiful site...we have camped there

* 15 is the approxmately number of 3-pointers our friend Josh Johnson had in a wild driveway basketball game at Jason Simpson's house Saturday (Jason is chief weather guy at WTOK-TV, Meridian)

* 0 is how many points I scored (I did not even hit the rim a single time)

* 22 was the wind chill this morning at Olive Branch, Miss., in the NW corner of the state just south of Memphis. 32 was the temperature. And, this is supposed to be spring?

* 13 was the low temperature on Newfound Gap, Smoky Mountains, this morning with a trace of snow on the ground

* 11 was the low atop Mt. Leconte

* 24 was the temperature in Mountain City, Tenn., with a wind chill of 14 and snow flurries

* 2 below zero was the low in the Lower 48 this morning

* 26 below took the prize at Nuiqsut, Alaska

* 91 in Tallahassee, Palm Beach and Vero Beach was the USA high yesterday

* 90 is how long I got to sleep during a power nap at mid morning. 90 SECONDS that is before Little Miss Molly landed on my bed, burrowed under the covers and made me get up

FINAL NOTE
The USA snow pack this morning extends as far south as SW Kansas, North Missouri, South Illinois, Northeast half of Kentucky, SW Virginia and West North Carolina with 43% of the Lower 48 covered by snow. There were many times during the heart of winter that the snow pack was not that extensive

* 30 seconds is all that Molly is giving me to close out this report and take her for a walk. She is ringing her little bell on the back door knob as if Joe Lewis was boxing it. (all of you are too young to remember Alabama-born Joe, champion heavy-weight boxer)

Here is the latest visible satellite image:


Places like Clanton and Jacksonville are in full sunshine; clouds hang rough over towns like Jasper and Cullman. Georgia is mostly clear; Mississippi is still mostly cloudy. Ah, the mystery of the clearing process with cold air advection in the wake of a major storm system!

This week's episode of WeatherBrains is on the server... get it via iTunes or RSS... or listen here:

http://www.weatherbrains.com/

In this week's show:

- March 21, 1932: The worst day ever in Alabama's weather history;

- False alarms: Are they taking away from the effectiveness of warnings?

- J.B. Elliott's suggestion to revise the criteria for severe weather warnings and the response he got;

- Warnings issued by others besides the National Weather Service;

- How the NWS and television meteorologists stay in touch during severe weather outbreaks

The Wednesday morning map discussion video is on the server:

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

I am often guilty of not keeping my eye on the ball during "calm weather" periods like this. I really missed playing up the low clouds that cover much of Alabama this morning with the CAA (cold air advection) process going on right now. Those clouds are keeping temperatures a little above freezing this morning (we have mostly mid 30s around here).

J.B. had the clouds forecast correctly, as usual.

When will the clouds depart? Hard question. I am pretty confident they will be gone by the lunch hour today with bone crushing subsidence. Temperatures will be very chilly today, with highs only in the 50 to 55 degree range. Many communities up in the Tennessee Valley might not reach 50.

A fairly strong upper short wave will roll through here tomorrow with some clouds, but the air in the lower levels seems too dry for any rain. Any rain from that should be near the Gulf coast. The GFS also suggests a few flurries in the colder air over Arkansas.

A fresh supply of cold air moves into the state on Friday. Highs stay about 15 degrees below normal for mid to late March. We need to point out here that there is the potential for a light freeze and frost for the next four mornings... tomorrow, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Those low 80s we saw a week or so ago seem like a faint memory now.

NEXT RAIN: Still looks like the next chance of rain or storms will come Tuesday of next week, and the GFS continues to suggest that system won't be very robust, and severe weather won't be a concern.

WEATHER BRAINS: A new episode of our weekly podcast will be posted shortly... I was not able to be on the show this week but it looks like a good one. I will post a note here when it is ready; of course you can get the show automatically via RSS or iTunes.

The next map discussion video will be posted by 3:30 this afternoon!