The Friday morning map discussion video is on the server:
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
Strap in for a wild ride on the Polar Express.
See J.B.'s posts below for some temperatures up in the core of the cold air. This will be the coldest air of the season, most likely, for much of the nation. And, the cold air is knock, knock, knocking on I-20's door as I write this. My thermometer in Shelby County is showing 58. To the northwest, Muscle Shoals is at 45, and Memphis at 34.
Temperatures should fall through the 50s and 40s today, and we should go into the 30s tonight. A few showers and periods of light rain are likely this morning as the colder air seeps in here.
ICE ISSUES: The NWS in both Huntsville and Birmingham have issued winter storm watches for tomorrow and tomorrow night. Temperatures during the day will hover in the mid 30s along I-20, and just to the north temperatures should be at or below freezing. For now, we expect the freeze line during the day tomorrow to be somewhere near a line from Sulligent to Jasper to Blount Springs to Jacksonville. North of this line, freezing rain and sleet could glaze bridges with ice.
The freeze line will drop southward tomorrow evening to the I-20 corridor, where some light bridge icing will be possible for Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Anniston tomorrow night into early Sunday.
Regular readers know the deal, but for those of you new to the blog (welcome; where have you been
, the cold air is very shallow. Only 2,000 to 3,000 feet deep. Warmer air goes up and over the cold air near the surface, creating this freezing rain (rain that falls when temperatures are 32 degrees or colder) and sleet (ice pellets). The cold air is not deep enough for snow tomorrow. Looking at your backyard thermometer is not a good way to determine if temperatures are cold enough for snow; you need to look for 32 degrees at an altitude of about 5,000 feet off the ground for this. Yet another reason why weather balloon data is so important.
HOW MUCH? The 06Z GFS shows 0.55" of precipitation for tomorrow and tomorrow evening. However, the 06Z NAM is much drier. But, the 00Z NAM is much like the 06Z GFS and shows a little over one-half inch. This could mean around 1/4 to 1/2 inch ice accumulation on exposed objects like trees, powerlines, and bridges. I would suggest at this point widespread power outages are not especially likely, but you can't completely rule out some downed lines due to the weight of the ice over North Alabama, north of our freeze line from Sulligent to Jasper to Blount Springs to Jacksonville.
The precipitation will diminish tomorrow evening, but some lingering freezing drizzle could bring more glaze to bridges tomorrow night and Sunday morning.
BOTTOM LINE: We think travel will be tricky during the day tomorrow due to bridge icing north of a line from Sulligent to Jasper to Blount Springs to Jacksonville. For the I-20 corridor during the day, places like Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Anniston, we should be in the mid 30s with a cold rain. Tomorrow night as temperatures drop, bridge icing could become a problem as far south as I-20.
For the greater Birmingham metro area, the greatest chance of bridge icing will come from about 6:00 p.m. tomorrow through 8:00 a.m. Sunday.
More rain is likely late Sunday night into Monday with another wave on the front, but temperatures will be a little warmer and we don't expect any ice at this point.
COMMENTS: We welcome open comments on this blog. We LOVE your reports on current and ongoing weather if something significant is happening. Those reports are very helpful!
We don't even mind negative comments from the usual bashers and hate mail guys. They are around just waiting on a golden opportunity.
But, we do not accept personal attacks or profanity. And, we ask that you don't cut and paste information from other weather web sites.
OK... we are strapped in and ready to go for a wintry weekend of weather in Alabama. Blog updates will be frequent. The next video will be on the server by 3:30 this afternoon...
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
Strap in for a wild ride on the Polar Express.
See J.B.'s posts below for some temperatures up in the core of the cold air. This will be the coldest air of the season, most likely, for much of the nation. And, the cold air is knock, knock, knocking on I-20's door as I write this. My thermometer in Shelby County is showing 58. To the northwest, Muscle Shoals is at 45, and Memphis at 34.
Temperatures should fall through the 50s and 40s today, and we should go into the 30s tonight. A few showers and periods of light rain are likely this morning as the colder air seeps in here.
ICE ISSUES: The NWS in both Huntsville and Birmingham have issued winter storm watches for tomorrow and tomorrow night. Temperatures during the day will hover in the mid 30s along I-20, and just to the north temperatures should be at or below freezing. For now, we expect the freeze line during the day tomorrow to be somewhere near a line from Sulligent to Jasper to Blount Springs to Jacksonville. North of this line, freezing rain and sleet could glaze bridges with ice.
The freeze line will drop southward tomorrow evening to the I-20 corridor, where some light bridge icing will be possible for Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Anniston tomorrow night into early Sunday.
Regular readers know the deal, but for those of you new to the blog (welcome; where have you been
, the cold air is very shallow. Only 2,000 to 3,000 feet deep. Warmer air goes up and over the cold air near the surface, creating this freezing rain (rain that falls when temperatures are 32 degrees or colder) and sleet (ice pellets). The cold air is not deep enough for snow tomorrow. Looking at your backyard thermometer is not a good way to determine if temperatures are cold enough for snow; you need to look for 32 degrees at an altitude of about 5,000 feet off the ground for this. Yet another reason why weather balloon data is so important.HOW MUCH? The 06Z GFS shows 0.55" of precipitation for tomorrow and tomorrow evening. However, the 06Z NAM is much drier. But, the 00Z NAM is much like the 06Z GFS and shows a little over one-half inch. This could mean around 1/4 to 1/2 inch ice accumulation on exposed objects like trees, powerlines, and bridges. I would suggest at this point widespread power outages are not especially likely, but you can't completely rule out some downed lines due to the weight of the ice over North Alabama, north of our freeze line from Sulligent to Jasper to Blount Springs to Jacksonville.
The precipitation will diminish tomorrow evening, but some lingering freezing drizzle could bring more glaze to bridges tomorrow night and Sunday morning.
BOTTOM LINE: We think travel will be tricky during the day tomorrow due to bridge icing north of a line from Sulligent to Jasper to Blount Springs to Jacksonville. For the I-20 corridor during the day, places like Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Anniston, we should be in the mid 30s with a cold rain. Tomorrow night as temperatures drop, bridge icing could become a problem as far south as I-20.
For the greater Birmingham metro area, the greatest chance of bridge icing will come from about 6:00 p.m. tomorrow through 8:00 a.m. Sunday.
More rain is likely late Sunday night into Monday with another wave on the front, but temperatures will be a little warmer and we don't expect any ice at this point.
COMMENTS: We welcome open comments on this blog. We LOVE your reports on current and ongoing weather if something significant is happening. Those reports are very helpful!
We don't even mind negative comments from the usual bashers and hate mail guys. They are around just waiting on a golden opportunity.
But, we do not accept personal attacks or profanity. And, we ask that you don't cut and paste information from other weather web sites.
OK... we are strapped in and ready to go for a wintry weekend of weather in Alabama. Blog updates will be frequent. The next video will be on the server by 3:30 this afternoon...
on February 17, 2006, 6:33 am
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