Thought I would pass along this note and pictures from Scott McClellan, an Alabamian who has been working as a disaster relief volunteer on the Mississippi coast:

Here are some of the photos I have taken in the past week here in the Waveland/Bay St. Louis MS area.  These folks are still suffering.  Keep in mind, these pics are only ONE day old.  This entire area still looks like this.  If possible, could these be posted on the blog, for the readers to see that not much is happening here.  We need the help.  God bless you all James.  Take care.











If you want to get in touch with Scott, his e-mail address is
scott_mcclellan33@yahoo.com

With cold and unsettled weather expected to persist through much of December, questions of a “white Christmas” are popping up. I always advise people not to hold their breath… here are some facts from the NWS Birmingham:

*For Birmingham, where nearly 100 years of weather records exist, there has never been a White Christmas in the classic sense.

*Perhaps the closest resemblance to a White Christmas in Birmingham was December, 1985. Flurries falling on Christmas Eve and early Christmas morning lightly dusted some areas, but snow was not deep enough to measure.

*Eight other trace snowfall events occurring in 1961, 1963, 1966, 1980, 1989, 1990, 1993, and 1995 were reported at the Birmingham International Airport on either December 24th or 25th.

*Weather records show that 5.5 inches of snow fell at the Birmingham city office on December 22, 1929. On December 24th, there was still 2.5 inches of snow on the ground at 7 PM. However, most of the snow melted Christmas Day when the temperature climbed to 51 degrees.

*Tuscaloosa has only reported two trace snowfall events in 1962 and 1985 on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

*Anniston has reported a total of seven trace snowfall events in 1963, 1970, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1993, and 1995 on either December 24th or 25th, but has never seen a true White Christmas.

You get the idea snow at Christmas time is very unlikely here, but I guess you can also think we are “overdue”!

Wintry weather continues over a wide area. A brief look at selected locations:

NASHVILLE
Now 37 cloudy
A dusting of snow tonight. Clearing late. Low by morning 15 to 20.

LOUISVILLE
34 with light rain now
Up to one inch of snow tonight but clearing after midnight.
Low by morning 17. Dry weather Friday. High 25

INDIANAPOLIS
Now 27, light snow
Heavy Snow Warning till Friday morning
Total accumulation 6 to 8 inches.
Blowing and drifting snow after midnight

CHICAGO
Now 28, snowing
Heavy Snow Warning with 6 to 9 inches expected
Low tonight 16 with wind chill zero to 10 below
Mostly sunny Friday

CLEVELAND
Now 28 cloudy
Snow tonight 4 to 6 inches expected
Low tonight 22
Snow continuing Friday morning

CINCINNATI
Now 34, light snow
Heavy Snow Warning overnight
4 to 6 inches expected
Low by morning 20

PITTSBURGH
Now 27, visibility 1/2 mile in snow
4 to 6 inches of snow expected overnight
Another 1 to 2 inches Friday
High Friday 28 with winds gusting to 30 mph

ASHEVILLE, N.C.
Now 31 with light freezing rain
Ice Storm Warning until Friday morning
Freezing rain tonight mixed with sleet at times
Ice accumulation 1/4 inch
That does not sound like much but it can play havoc with travel

BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
Now 28, cloudy
Winter Storm Warning until noon Friday
Snow increasing tonight accumulating 2 to 4 inches
Additional 1 to 2 inches Friday morning
High Friday 32
Winds gusting as high as 35 mph...a miserable daY

PHILADELPHIA
Now 28, cloudy
Winter Storm Warning from midinight tonight until noon Friday
1 to 3 inches of snow, mixed with sleet by daybreak
3 to 5 inches total accumulation couning tonight and Friday

NEW YORK CITY
28 cloudy now
Snow after midnight with 1 to 3 inches by daybreak
Additional 4 to 6 inches Friday with blowing snow by afternoon, gusts to 40 mph

BOSTON
Now 28, clear
Snow Friday accumulating 4 to 6 inches

ACTUAL REPORTS
6 inches of snow now on ground at Muncie, Alexandra, Bloomington, Ind.
7.5 inches at Marion, in Northern Indiana
7 inches at Carmel, Ind.
4 inches in Ft. Wayne
5 inches at Anderson, Ind.
4 inches in South Bend
1/4 to 1/2 inch ice Northern and Eastern Kentucky, ice storm underway
5 to 6 inches of snow on ground, Wayne County, Southeast Ill.
2 to 3 inches on ground across Southeast Missouri

USA EXTREMES THURSDAY
Low of 42 below zero at West Yellowstone, Montana
High of 84 at Fort Meyers and Punta Gorda, Florida

Here are some rain totals as of 3:40 p.m...

Hamilton 0.61"
Tuscaloosa 0.27"
Riverchase (ABC 33/40 Studio) 0.24"
Cullman 0.13"
Birmingham (Legion Field) 0.06"

Fun observations to the north...

Indianapolis 27 with heavy snow
Cincinnati 28 with moderate snow
Louisville 34 with light snow
Lexington 34 with rain

The Thursday afternoon map discussion video is on the server:

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

Sorry for the slow performance over on the abc3340.com site (this blog is on the jamesspann.com site on a different server, so no problems here)... our web site shares a server and bandwidth with our sister station in Washington, D.C... WJLA, Channel 7. They are getting hammered with traffic due to the winter storm threat ahead for our nation's capital.

This storm has been aggravating in a number of ways for us... the rain is slow to arrive over the eastern two-thirds of the state. Seems like the problem is the upper air part and the surface part of the storm are disconnected in ways. Still, we now have a solid rain mass from Tuscaloosa to Huntsville and it is finally moving on east. Looks like most spots will wind up with a quarter of an inch.

The fact that the rain started late also meant a busted temperature forecast; no evaporative cooling this morning, so temperatures are hovering around 50 in the rain-free areaas.

TONIGHT: Another surge of cold air moves in here. Just look at the numbers... as I write this around 1:30 p.m. Memphis has 34 with drizzle and fog. Other current observations include 42 in Jackson, MS with rain (That is what I figured we would be having right now), 37 at Greenwood, MS, and 27 in Dallas.

The rain will move out as the cold air moves in, so any snow or ice is very unlikely. We should be in the mid 20s by daybreak tomorrow.

The weather will be cold and dry tomorrow through the weekend. Saturday morning will be especially cold, with most places seeing lows between 17 and 22.

NEXT WEEK: One thing is for sure; temperatures will remain below normal. And, another storm system is likely. But, details are hard to nail down. The European wants to develop a storm south of the Louisiana coast Tuesday, while the GFS waits until Wednesday night and Thursday. For now we will believe the GFS (which is a dangerous thing to do this time of the year), and mention rain for Wednesday night and Thursday of next week. Can't rule out some snow or ice for the northern quarter of the state, but odds favor another cold rain at this point.

LONG RANGE: I still think we will have one, maybe two decent snow/ice threats before the month and the year is over. The pattern just favors it.

And, cold weather fans will like the 12Z run at 384 hours, a very cold trough shows up over the eastern U.S. which, if by chance is correct, would mean a very cold Christmas. Who knows... with the snow cover and existing cold air now we might be thinking of cold like late December 1989 or 1983. We saw single digits both of those years around Christmas time.

TO THE NORTH AND NORTHEAST: A big ice and snow event for tonight and tomorrow. An ice storm warning covers part of western North Carolina, and winter storm warnings are common from Kentucky and southern Indiana to New England. Lots folks in that region will see 3 to 6 inches of snow, with heavier totals in isolated strips.

Working on getting our Storm Alert 2006 tour ready... that is coming up in February. We will post the schedule by early January... there are some amazing stories for the show.

The next map discussion video will be available tomorrow morning by 7:00 a.m.!

It continues to spread into North and West Alabama from Mississippi.

At 12:50 pm, a steady rain has spread as far east as Huntsville, Cullman and Tuscaloosa.

Steady light rain should reach the Birmingham area by 2pm.

The heaviest rain extends from Winston County northward to the Tennessee border. Even in those areas it is not really "heavy." Instead, mostly light to moderate.

So far, Muscle Shoals, in extreme NW Alabama has received 0.08 of an inch.

It did not arrive as early as we originally expected in Central Alabama.

The rain that we thought would spread north from the Gulf of Mexico has been sliding off to the northeast into Southeast Alabama and South Georgia.

However, the rain we expected from the west is moving into the state. It has already overspread part of Northwest Alabama.

At 11:30 am, it was raining as far east as Decatur, Double Springs and Fayette. Very light rain or sprinkles reported as far east as the Birmingham area.

Even up in extreme North Alabama, temperatures have moderated into the upper 40s, so little or no danger of any icing.

The lowest temperature I have found in the "Lower 48" this morning was 42 below zero at West Yellowstone, Mont., which tied the December 8 record. Yesterday they had -45. Here is a look at some frigid spots:

42 below zero in West Yellowstone
35 below in Big Piney, Wyo., breaking the old record of -27.
24 below in Stanley, Idaho
29 below in Jackson, Wyo., just south of the Grand Tetons
22 below in Laramie, Wyo., where the wind never stops blowing
24 below in Pinedale, Wyo.
23 below in Alliance, Neb.
25 below at Old Fort Laramie, Wyo.

Pinedale is in West Central Wyoming, in a valley. However the highest point in Wyoming, Gannett Peak, elevation 13,804 feet, is only 45 air miles to the NE. One of the ladies that posts on this blog reported yesterday that she lived in Pinedale for two years and that it was really beautiful.

ILLINOIS
Low of 2 above zero at Chicago O'hare this morning.
Snow cover across North and Central Illinois generally between 1 and 3 inches.

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
19 degree low in Gatlinburg and Cades Cove
17 atop 6400-foot Mt. Leconte
No snow at any of those locations

BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON
Winter Storm Warning 6 pm today through noon Friday
2 to 4 inches accumulating tonight
1 to 2 inches additional accumulating Friday
Snow will be mixed with freezing rain/sleet after midnight and tomorrow
Low tonight 25, High Friday 32.

TEXAS
10 degree low in Abiline
7 in Haskell
11 in San Angelo, coldest weather since 1996
3 below zero in Amarillo, record for December 8
6 in Midland, also a record
9 in Wichita Falls, a record
23 in Del Rio, way down on the Rio Grande

OKLAHOMA
4.5 inches of snow on the ground at Osage
3.5 inches in parts of Tulsa

ALASKA
9 below in Deadhore was the state low this morning
Amazing warmup, 50 below at several places in the last few days
34 inches of snow on the ground at Valdez

WARM WEATHER FANS
83 yesterday in Marathon, Fla.
80 in Naples
82 North Miami Beach

FUNERAL ANNOUNCEMENT
It is for Epsilon. (see post by Brian Peters below)
He, she, or it (don't know which) breaking up rapidly
Last advisory issued
Forecaster at NHC said "It's about time" in the headline of advisory!
Many cheers from all quarters

Also scan down to see some nice snow pictures that james posted from OU University at Norman.

It would probably be close to impossible to compile a list of all the records set this hurricane season. If there were such a list, one item on that list would probably be that 2005 was one of the longest hurricane seasons on record. I think I posted a couple of times that Gamma or Delta might be our last storm, but then along came Epsilon that has lasted until today, December 8th! Here is a paragraph extracted from the National Hurricane Center's Tropical Cyclone Discussion. I think they are as weary from this season as we all are by that last line!

CONVECTION HAS VANISHED AND EPSILON IS NOW A TIGHT SWIRL OF LOW
CLOUDS. THE CYCLONE IS WEAKENING RAPIDLY AND IS FORECAST TO BECOME
A REMNANT LOW WITHIN THE NEXT 12 HOURS. THE DEPRESSION OR THE
REMNANT LOW IS FORECAST TO MOVE TOWARD THE SOUTHWEST ABOUT 5 TO 10
KNOTS STEERED BY THE LOW LEVEL FLOW UNTIL DISSIPATION. I HOPE THIS
IS THE END OF THE LONG LASTING 2005 HURRICANE SEASON.

-Brian-

These pictures were sent in last night from Mallory Burford, a meteorology student at the University of Oklahoma, who is from Oxford...