It is raining late tonight over a rather large part of NW and West Alabama.

At 10:40 pm, most areas west of a Tuscaloosa-Birmingham-Huntsville line had rain. So far it has been light in Alabama with a few spots of moderate rain over the NW.

However...the rain is far more extensive across mississippi and some of it is heavy. The heavier rain, along with some thunderstorms will continue to spread eastward across Alabama tonight and Sunday morning. Some areas could easily get over an inch of rain.

Although there will also be some thunderstorms mixed in, the risk of severe weather appears minimal. The Storm Prediction Center had most of Mississippi outlooked for a slight risk tonight.

Overall, the atmosphere is not very unstable.

No warnings were needed as this activity moved across Louisiana and, so far, no warnings in Mississippi. Sever thunderstorm warnings were needed further north in Kansas.

At 10:40 pm, lightning detection equipment showed very little lightning with this weather.

That is how long it took us to get through lunch at Jim 'n Nicks in Trussville today.

Met with Bill and Sally Murray, Jason Simpson from 3340, and Josh Johnson, Chief Meteorologist from WTOK-TV, Meridian.

We laughed more than we ate.

Bunches of great weather stories from the past. I collected some new material for my eventual book, Scatterbrains and Scattered Showers.

I am sore from laughing so much.

I am sure some of the other diners thought we were wacko.

Which we may be.

This is my official apology to the others for being so silly during lunch. But it is my nature to enjoy life as if there is no tomorrow.

Life goes on...

The Saturday map discussion video is on the server at:

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

Running a tad late this morning. Been a busy week as I enjoyed speaking to the group at Math Night at Elvin Hill Elementary School in Columbiana on Tuesday night and then participating along with Jeff Speegle in the career day event at Riverchase Middle School.

Looks like most of Alabama will have a great daytime Saturday as clouds mass to our west. A fairly strong storm system will be rolling through the state tonight. The Storm Prediction Center has a large area outlooked for slight risk severe to our west but it does not apppear that we'll see severe weather tonight. Perhaps a squall line will affect the state after midnight with some rumbles of thunder and rainfall on the order of one to one and a half inches. Rain should be exiting the eastern side of the state by early Sunday afternoon.

A second short wave comes by on Monday but it looks like it will be starved for moisture through there is an outside chance for a shower. Slight cool down in store for Monday but then temperatures moderate once again as we stay in a Pacific air mass. Can't help but wonder with all those cold temperatures that JB writes about when the dam will break and we'll see some really cold weather. But for the moment, the models are not suggesting that through the next week or so.

Another system rolls through on Thursday with a wet day but once again not much temperature change.

Hope you are able to get out and enjoy this beautiful late January day. God bless.

-Brian-

56 below zero at Beaver, Fort Yukon and Chandalar Lake was the coldest in Alaska this morning. However, within the last 24 hours it has been as low as -60 at Chandalar Lake.

Of more interest, and almost as unusual was these high temperatures Friday:

51 in Green Bay
62 in Wichita
60 in Lincoln
58 in Des Moines and Sioux Falls

And one bit of great news:

Almost an inch (0.91) of rain in the last 24 hours at DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) Airport. That sould bring a lot of relief to people fightning grass fires.

Please don't ask me why I am so fascinated by the severe arctic cold because I don't have the frostiest notion...