The Tuesday afternoon map discussion video is on the server at:

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

Wow, what a warm-up! Be sure to check JB's post below. Just before 3 pm, every reporting station in Alabama was in the 60s with 72 reported at Maxwell AFB on the west side of Montgomery. It was such a nice day that I actually got outside at noon and washed my filthy car! Got to make sure I don't go out tomorrow so I can keep it shiny for more than just today. Plus I took a walk around under the pine trees adjacent to the Alabaster library along with my dog and my wife.

The strong upper level low will be approaching the area Wednesday as a surface low moves across the Ohio Valley. Dewpoints are forecast to approach 60 as far north as Birmingham with lower to mid 60s along the Gulf Coast. Highest CAPE values (CAPE stands for Convectively Available Potential Energy, one of the better indices used for severe weather) stay in the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama. The risk of severe weather will diminish late Wednesday as the system moves further eastward into a more stable atmosphere.

Late tonight and before sunrise tomorrow, thunderstorms that do develop could be strong with large hail the biggest threat due to fairly cold temperatures aloft. Rainfall amounts for central Alabama should be in the one half to one inch range. Got burned on the last event so being a little more conservative this round.

The low advances northeastward Thursday but cloudiness will stay with us for much of the day with perhaps some peeks of sunshine toward the late afternoon. Temperatures will drop back a bit with highs in the 50s Thursday but recovering into the lower 60s Friday and Saturday.

The overall weather pattern remains progressive with what appears to be an almost endless series of short wave troughs moving through the flow. These will continue to bring us a chance for rain about every two days into the first of 2006.

Looking further down the road, the NAO is forecast to remain neutral and the GFS long range plots do not show any major changes. So the roller coast ride with rain and cool then warming up is here for the foreseeable future.

The next map discussion video should be on the server by 8 am or so tomorrow.

-Brian-

At noon today, the official temperature at Tuscaloosa Airport had soared to 64 degrees.
After a low this morning of 30.

That is a 34 degree rise in only 6 hours.

The warmer air has not quite reached the valleys of Northeast Alabama. It was only 46 at Gadsden Airport at noon.

It will warm up there also as soon as the colder air in those deep valleys can be "scooped out."

One of the lowest temperatures in the state this morning was 23 at Black Creek in Northeast Etowah County. A short list of lows:

23 in Black Creek
25 in Gadsden
26 in Hamilton, Talladega, Wedowee
27 in Fort Payne, Pinson and Desoto State Park
28 in Jasper
29 in Huntsville
30 in Tuscaloosa and Clanton

The Tuesday morning map discussion video is on the server at:

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

The day is getting off to a chilly start with temperatures across central Alabama ranging from the mid 20s to lower 30s after good radiational cooling. But those chilly temperatures are expected to be short lived as good warm advection takes place with good sunshine. Temperatures could climb as much as 35 degrees today much like they did in Texas yesterday.

The GFS is a bit faster on the approaching weather system that is expected to move through Alabama Wednesday. The Storm Predicton Center has outlooked east Mississippi and west Alabama for slight risk severe tonight - generally after midnight - as the system approaches with strong lapse rates aloft and surface moisture increases quickly. The main threat overnight would appear to be large hail though storms could rotate.

The action shifts further east and south on Wednesday with a good size area of southern Alabama, southwestern Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle in a slight risk area. The atmosphere should be rish with moisture as dewpoints climb well into the 60s - maybe even some lower 70s. The greatest risk of tornadoes should remain closer to the coast as the upper level trough moves across the area with a zone of strong low level shear.

The front clears out of the Southeast on Thursday and we'll see a cool down. But since the air mass has Pacific origins, we're not looking for dramatically colder conditions. We stay in a progressive pattern well into next week with a fast moving flow and a series of upper level disturbances that will bring a front and rain chances about every other day including Saturday and Monday. But temperatures remain on the mild side as we continue with Pacific air masses.

Should there be serious severe weather Wednesday, remember that you can catch ABC 3340 streaming video via al.com. Go to the weather section of the ABC 3340 web site and click on the link in the upper right corner of the page.

Stay weather wise and be safe. I'll have the next web video map discussion on the server around 4 pm today.

-Brian-

We have had a lot of those lately. Warmer on the ridges this morning than in the valleys.

At 6 am:

30 at Anniston Airport but 42 atop Mt. Cheaha not far away.

In Northeast Alabama
27 at Fort Payne Airport but 38 up on the mountain in Mentone

ONE OTHER ALABAMA NOTE
The latest outlook from the Storm Prediction Center brings a slight risk of severe weather into West Central Alabama by early Wednesday morning.

AND...A FINAL COLD WEATHER NOTE
The present temperature in Ilirnei, Russa is 61 below zero. At Ojmjakon, in Eastern Siberia, it is 56 below and the sea level pressure has built to 30.83 inches or 1044 millibars. Their forecast low in the next 24 hours is 65 below.

We sorta keep a glance on those regions because at times, the arctic air can become so dense in that part of the workd, that it can cross over the North Pole and head south. Upper air patterns do not favor that at this time.

Another cold morning. These 5 am temperatures:

25 at Gadsden Airport
30 in Huntsville, Anniston and Alexander City
31 in Tuscaloosa
32 in Birmingham and Montgomery

This means a big temperature change for later today. A quick warmup. In places like Tuscaloosa, Demopolis and Livingston, the temperature could rise as much as 35 degrees reaching afternoon highs in the mid 60s.

Quick warm ups for the rest of North and Central Alabama also.