Thought I would share this as I am walking out the door; Ken sent this to his media partners this afternoon. For those of you that missed the post here yesterday, Ken just resigned as the Meteorologist In Charge of the Birmingham NWS office:

Over the last three years, the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Birmingham has raised the bar for weather forecast offices across the country. Along with our closest partners at the Huntsville office, Alabama has redefined the role of Federal service in America.

Recognized by the Department of Commerce through three medals in three years, we pioneered efforts to protect lives. National programs such as Instant Messenger, FloodReady, StormReady Partner, and Thunderstorm Advisory (Significant Weather Alert) all started in Birmingham. We have set a new urgency for press conferences and critical communications. It is my belief the entire NWS must continue to forge ahead with these type of efforts while keeping close ties with the community.

Where am I going with this? Our Regional Director is committed to serving our family and all customers of the NWS. He offered me the opportunity to serve as Regional Systems Operations Chief for 40 offices and nearly 1000 people. It is my opportunity to spread the "Alabama way" across our southern region and the nation. I would be able to serve Alabama in a higher capacity and provide a greater impact to our state along with all the great things you do to keep our nation safe.

I leave with a sense of duty, but a broken heart. I value all the great opportunities we had working together and the lives we saved. From tornadoes in 2001, 2002, 2004, flooding in 2003, to Hurricane Ivan in 2004, it was great to be able to serve you.

I will be leaving Birmingham for Fort Worth around the 25th of February. My email won't change, so please let me know how the NWS can provide you the best service possible. You all made this the best experience of my life so keep in touch.

Warmest regards,

Ken Graham

The afternoon update is on the server:

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

Headed out to Northport for tonight's Storm Alert 2005 show. Come and join us if you live anywhere in west Alabama... we begin at 7:00. Just got the new 2005 ABC 33/40 Alabama Severe Weather DVDs today... we will give some away tonight and announce how you can get one if you don't win one. These are really packed with some great video.

No big changes in our forecast thinking... please watch the video today for details. Have to hit the road!

The Tuesday morning video update is on the server:

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

The headline pretty much sums up the weather here for the next seven days. Lets take the elements one at a time:

WET: Rain will fall at times for the next 36 hours. Today, I still think most of the rain falls this morning, with very few showers this afternoon or tonight. I would not be shocked if the sun pops out this afternoon, and if that happens we zoom to near 70. Showers are likely tomorrow, and maybe even a few thunderstorms, as a cold front pushes through the state. Still no dynamics for severe weather.

COLDER: A sharp change to colder weather begins tomorrow night, and we will struggle to reach the mid 40s on Thursday. Clouds might hang in much of the day over northeast Alabama, and I would not be surprised if we got a few reports of snow flurries over the northeast corner of the state early in the day. A few flurries are likely over east Tennessee.

Our pals up in Boston will probably be dealing with another blizzard... at least 6 to 12 inches of snow with howling winds thanks to a rapidly deepening low just east of Cape Cod. New York City will get some snow as well.

By Friday morning, most places here should drop into the 20 to 25 degree range, with upper teens in the colder valleys. Quite a change from the mild weather we are feeling now.

WET: More rain should advance into Alabama on Sunday. The latest GFS is a little slower with the rain, moving it into the western part of the state during the morning, with the rain reaching east Alabama Sunday afternoon. This looks like a good soaking, with one to two inches of rain likely Sunday into Monday.

WARMER: No cold air following the Sunday/Monday rain, so we warm up again into the 60s by the middle of next week as the roller coaster ride continues.

DOWN THE ROAD: A bewildering array of solutions for mid and late February. I will think the split flow concept is the best solution now, which means anything goes in the February 15-28 time frame. Fun, fun fun...

Hope to see you at the Storm Alert 2005 show tonight in Northport!