Yesterday I wrote about my sleepless adventure this past Saturday, driving down to Chilton and Autauga counties after the all night severe weather episode Friday night and early Saturday morning. I had actually planned on going to the annual Birmingham Hamfest on Saturday, and I do regret missing the event. I attended by first Birmingham Hamfest in 1970 when it was held at the old Oporto Armory in the eastern part of town. I had just earned my novice amateur radio license at the ripe age of 14, and the hamfest was like being in hog heaven with the huge flea market and new equipment vendors. The Birmingham Hamfest has always been held on either the first or second weekend in May over all of these years. Guess I will have to wait until the annual Huntsville Hamfest, which will be held August 20-21.

Amateur radio has been a wonderful hobby, and it helped to shape my career in meteorology thanks to the many years I volunteered as a severe weather spotter in the 70s in Tuscaloosa. To this very day, ham radio operators still are the backbone of the SKYWARN process. To anyone that expresses interest in becoming a storm spotter, I always recommend two things: SKYWARN training, and getting an amateur radio license. There are three types of amateur radio license: technician, general, and extra class. The most popular license for beginners is the Technician Class license, which requires only a 35 multiple-choice question written examination. The test is written with the beginner in mind. Morse Code is not required for this license. With a Technician Class license, you will have all ham radio privileges above 30 megahertz, allowing you to use FM repeaters for SKYWARN nets. Exams are given locally by amateur radio clubs on a regular basis. Here are some links to local amateur radio clubs:

Birmingham Amateur Radio Club: http://www.w4cue.com/
Shelby County Amateur Radio Club: http://www.scarc.com/
Tuscaloosa Amateur Radio Club: http://www.w4kcq.org/
Gadsden Amateur Radio Club: http://www.garc.org/
Calhoun Emergency Amateur Radio Club: http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&groupid=224735&ck
=

Here are rain totals today from around the ABC 33/40 Pinpoint Neighborhood Weathernet:

Birmingham (Legion Field) 0.00
Tuscaloosa 0.00
Hamilton 0.00
Demopolis 0.00
Clanton 0.00
Cullman 0.00
Talladega 0.03
Anniston 0.09
Gadsden 0.26

The Thursday afternoon web video is on the server:

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

Very interesting to see the NEXRAD rain estimates this afternoon. Not a drop of rain for most all of west Alabama, just a few sprinkles over the Birmingham metro, and general light amounts (under one tenth of an inch) over east Alabama. But a few heavier showers did form earlier today and there are two small spots with 1 to 2 inches showing up; one near Gadsden, and another between Lincoln and Ohatchee. No doubt the dust was indeed settled there, but most places were high and dry.

Any lingering showers over east Alabama will end this evening, and we will be in great shape tomorrow through the weekend, with lots of sunshine and a nice warming trend. We should reach the 80 to 82 degree range easily by Saturday and Sunday. A very nice Mother's Day weekend.

NEXT WEEK: The 12Z run of the GFS still suggests a chance of showers, and maybe even a thunderstorm, Monday night and Tuesday with a weakening cold front. The main upper support will pass well to the north of Alabama, so amounts probably won't be all that heavy. The GFS suggests a shower might even be possible on Wednesday, but they should be pretty isolated by then. We might have our warmest weather so far this year by Thursday of next week, with mid 80s likely and upper 80s possible. The high humidity will make it feel like summer.

MAY 13-15: Still looks wet and unsettled as a cold front stalls out over the deep south, and an upper air low forms to the west. The 12Z run shows an upper low drifting from north Arkansas down to near Memphis during the middle of the month, which could mean an extended period of wet weather here....

Thanks to my pals at Realty South for their hospitality at the 10K luncheon today, and for everyone at Shades Mountain Christian School for allowing me to speak today to the 3rd grade. Some of the high school students studying meteorology slipped in as well... didn't know we had any high school meteorology classes around here!

BRIEF NOTES AT 12:15 PM:

.....Those showers and thunderstorms over NE Alabama now weaker and moving slowly east and NE but still producing moderate to heavy rain in some areas.

.....In Etowah County, we have an estimate of around two inches of rain in about two hours on the ridge above Noccalula Falls just off Scenic Highway. Doppler radar from Birmingham estimates up to 1.90 inches in the area. Hytop Doppler estimates as much as 2.60. Radar estimates should not be taken as the final word but the estimates are useful.

.....Locally heavy amounts also in scattered spots across Central and East St. Clair County.

.....Lightning over NE Alabama has diminished. (There never was very much) Lightning was reported on the official observation from Fort Payne Airport.

.....Still only a few sprinkles in a few spots around Jefferson County.

.....A nice dry day across West Alabama with lots of sunshine

Many thanks to Tom Randall, a long-time East Birmingham postman for permitting us to use his account of an interesting weather experience near Asheville, N. C. He described it as a "snowbow." Maybe Tom has coined a new word. I'm sure it has happened before but certainly not common.

Excerpts from his note:

"My wifeand I were celebrating our anniversary at the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway April 27 at about 5,000 feet elevation. As we were leaving our room for dinner at the restaurant, it started snowing with winds of about 25-30 mph. Everything was falling sideways. Moments after the snow began, a rainbow (a snowbow) appeared. One of the most vivid that I have ever seen. During our dinner it appeared again and caused considerable excitement and a lot of conversation among the staff and diners. I could not detect any liquid
precipitation at all. It was truly spectacular. Did we witness something
truly unusual?" (Anybody else ever seen one of those

Moderate showers now underway over parts of NE Alabama. They are not numerous and are clustered mainly over St. Clair and Etowah County.

Lightning detection indicates several lightning strikes.

Movement is toward the NNE.

It's dark to the East and ESE from where I am located in NE TRussville. Raining not too far away.

The Thursday morning web video is on the server:

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

We will be watching for raindrops around here today. Certainly possible, especially east of I-65, but most places probably won't get enough rain to measure due to the very dry air near the surface.

The upper trough passing through the state today will move to the south Atlantic coast tomorrow, and as upper heights begin to rise we expect the sun to return in full force as a warming trend begins. The weekend looks excellent with ample sunshine and temperatures in the low 80s.

NEXT WEEK: A storm system will pass well to the north of Alabama early in the week, but the trailing front might trigger a few showers late Monday night or Tuesday over the northern half of the state. The upper ridge will really hold, so rain amounts will probably be light and spotty.

Looks like Wednesday and Thursday of next week could be the warmest days so far this year, with mid to upper 80s likely along with a decent amount of sunshine. Higher humidity levels will make the weather really feel like summer, unlike the cool weather we have enjoyed lately.

Still looks like the next significant rain event could show up in the May 13-14 time frame as an upper trough develops to the north, and a surface front stalls out over Alabama.

Still no sign of any major severe weather threat over the next two weeks.

Looking forward to seeing the kids at Shades Mountain Christian school today... they are always a great audience!