The Tuesday afternoon map discussion video is on the server:

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

Lots of ups and downs for Alabama thermometers over the next seven days.

UP: We rise into the upper 60s tomorrow. Some spots might touch 70 degrees as we enjoy another spring-like day. Some high clouds arrive during the day, but lots of sunshine.

DOWN: Cooler air moves into the state on Thursday along with some clouds. Then, a deep upper trough bottoms out on Friday over the eastern U.S... and we go into the deep freeze for one day. Still looks like we hold in the 30s much of the day Friday. And yes, there is enough moisture around for sprinkles or flurries Thursday night and Friday. I guess a few snow showers could form over the high terrain across northeast Alabama... but even there it should not be a really big deal.

The coldest morning will come Saturday morning with mid 20s for most places.

UP: A warming trend begins Saturday afternoon as we reach 50 degrees. The mercury might even touch 60 on Sunday as the flow becomes zonal again. The weekend will be dry.

NEXT WEEK: Looks like most of the significant waves will stay north of the state at least over the first half of next week, so we don't expect any measurable precipitation over the next five days.

MID-MONTH: I still think we should have a pretty good pop of cold air at mid-month... but details are impossible to nail down. The AO remains somewhat negative, and the NAO somewhat neutral for the next 15 days, if the GFS is correct. This means most cold snaps will be short lived.

That NAO won't stay neutral forever... we will have to watch for signs of a negative trend later in the month and into February.

2006 SEVERE WEATHER DVD: Our new 2006 ABC 33/40 Severe Weather DVD is now available at sponsor locations... our sponsors have exclusive distribution rights, so you will need to go by and pick one up. That is how we can offer the DVD without charge!

Some really good material can be found on the new DVD... and needless to say most of the stories involve tropical weather.

Pick up your free copy at any location of:

Alabama's First Federal Credit Union
Bedz Express
Sonic Drive In
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The next map discussion will be on the server by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. Two late nights are ahead for us with the Orange Bowl tonight and the Rose Bowl tomorrow night. Should be some great football, though, if you can stay up late with us!

Normally, this time of year, we often post a list of low temperatures on unusually cold morning.

Time to do the flip-side.

These are Monday highs and quite remarkable. A number of them are records:

81 in Wilsonville, Montgomery, Selma
80 in Prattville, Mobile
79 in Livingston
78 in Hamilton, Anniston, Horseshoe Bend, Wadley
77 in Alexander City, Talladega, Heflin, Pinson
76 in Jasper, Gadsden
75 in Ashland
74 in Huntsville

These highs are more common to early May!

The Tuesday morning map discussion video is on the server:

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

"I'm back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again"

Getting back into the routine today after a long Christmas break. Thanks to all the associates for taking care of business in my absence.

How about those highs yesterday? 81 in Montgomery; 80 in Tuscaloosa. Birmingham's 77 was a new record high for the date, beating our old record of 74 set last year. Temperatures will be cooler today, but still above normal. We expect upper 50s today and mid 60s tomorrow. Pretty comfortable for the middle of winter.

COLDER DAYS: Our end of the week chill comes in two parts... cooler air arrives on Thursday, but the coldest air holds off until Friday. Still looks like we stay in the 30s much of the day Friday, along with clouds and some drizzle or snow flurries. Don't you know that will feel cold compared to the warmth we enjoyed yesterday. We should be in the mid 20s by daybreak Saturday morning.

The cold snap will be a very quick one. The upper flow goes zonal again by Sunday and we warm up. We will probably reach 60 degrees by Sunday afternoon. This is a real changable pattern with the AO and NAO not far from neutral (see the video for more on global teleconnection happenings).

LONG RANGE: The GFS continues to hint at a cold shot at mid-month with a little more staying power in the January 14-18 time frame.

NEW PODCAST: Anyone get an iPod for Christmas? Many of you listen to our weather forecast podcasts we have been offering for the last year. These are short discussion and forecasts (one to two minutes) you can take with you on your iPod (available on the podcast section of iTunes), or hear on your computer.

We have decided to bring on a new audio podcast to be produced weekly called "Weather Brains". I will be the first admit that I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, and I am sure not a "weather brain". But, I have surrounded myself with people who are real weather brains, and we will have a roundtable discussion of issues related to weather. The stuff we discuss here on the blog. You will be hearing from our own J.B. Elliott, Bill Murray, Jason Simpson, John Oldshue, and Brian Peters. And, we will have special guests from time to time that fall in the "weather brain" category.

Weather Brains will be available on iTunes, and we hope to produce the first show within the next three weeks. And, of course, you can listen on your computer as well. We will have the show posted, along with information, here in coming days:

http://www.weatherbrains.com/

I think the show will be a ton of fun.

You can listen to our existing forecast podcasts anytime via iTunes, or here:

http://www.jamesspann.com/bmachine/podcast.php

STORM ALERT 2006: We are now beginning our busiest time of the year. We run non-stop from now through the end of May. One of the highlights is our annual weather tour across Alabama, Storm Alert 2006. I have a great story to share this year about Alabama's worst tornado outbreak on record that happened on March 21, 1932. You will meet a man who survived the tornado, but he lost both parents and four brothers and sisters. It is amazing... some real Alabama weather history. Of course, there will be much more in the show, and we will post the dates and times here soon. The tour will be next month, mostly on Thursday nights.

I will have the next video discussion posted by 3:30 this afternoon... this is a sleepless week with late night football games again tonight and tomorrow night (Orange Bowl and Rose Bowl). Glad I got some rest last week!