The Tuesday morning map discussion video is on the server:
http://www.jamesspann.com/
Watch the video today and see typhoon Chanchu, which is south of China. Guess it is almost time to pull out the tracking charts and pay attention to the tropics. Sustained winds in Chanchu are 115 knots, or 132 mph.
I lament the fact this is probably the last time my thermometer here will show temperatures in the 40s until sometime in October. I am at 49 degrees as I write this early this moming. Enjoy it while we have it... the long, hot, hazy, and humid days of summer are fast appoaching. In fact, it is about time to write two of my annual blog posts: Spann's Best Way To The Bama Beaches, and the annual primer on summer weather forecasting in Alabama. They will be posted here within one to two weeks.
I will try to post a list of morning lows here a little later this morning.
THE BIG SWIRL: A massive upper low continues to cover much of the eastern half of the nation. This will keep temperatures will below normal around here through tomorrow, and it will also mean a chance of scattered showers. Nothing heavy, and it won't rain everywhere. Just keep in mind a few raindrops are possible.
Interesting to note today will be the 12th day in a row with below normal temperatures, and the 12th day in a row with temperatures below 80 degrees. The mercury has exceeded 80 on only two days so far this month (May 3 and 4). Pretty amazing.
WARMER DAYS: We begin to warm up later in the week; we should reach the upper 70s on Thursday, with low 80s likely Friday. A few showers could show up late Friday or Friday night thanks to a front approaching from the north.
WEEKEND UPDATE: The 00Z GFS keeps the surface boundary stalled over the northern part of Alabama, which means a chance of showers on Saturday and Sunday. If you have something planned outdoors, don't panic. The rain won't be heavy or continuous, and amounts should be light. Just keep in mind a few scattered showers could show up over the weekend. High temperatures will be close to 80 degrees on both days.
NEXT WEEK: The maps look more like May as the westerlies shift northward, and our weather becomes warm and humid. Scattered showers or storms could show up by Tuesday or Wednesday.
LONG RANGE: The GFS shows a typical late May pattern in the May 26-31 time frame. The main upper air winds are well to the north, and we become a graveyard for cold fronts. Each front that drifts in here stalls and fizzles out. And, those decaying fronts can bring some pretty generous rain from time to time with a deep southerly flow of moisture (despite the lack of upper dynamics) coming around the west side of the Bermuda high.
BUSY DAY: Looking forwad to driving up to Guin today. That town will always be linked to one of Alabama's most deadly and violent tornadoes... over 20 were killed there and the Marion County town was just about wiped out during the Superoutbreak on April 3, 1974. I will be speaking to the residents at Sunset Manor there. I hope to have the afternoon map discussion video posted on time by 3:30...
We recorded a new WeatherBrains podcast last night... I will post that shortly!
http://www.jamesspann.com/
Watch the video today and see typhoon Chanchu, which is south of China. Guess it is almost time to pull out the tracking charts and pay attention to the tropics. Sustained winds in Chanchu are 115 knots, or 132 mph.
I lament the fact this is probably the last time my thermometer here will show temperatures in the 40s until sometime in October. I am at 49 degrees as I write this early this moming. Enjoy it while we have it... the long, hot, hazy, and humid days of summer are fast appoaching. In fact, it is about time to write two of my annual blog posts: Spann's Best Way To The Bama Beaches, and the annual primer on summer weather forecasting in Alabama. They will be posted here within one to two weeks.
I will try to post a list of morning lows here a little later this morning.
THE BIG SWIRL: A massive upper low continues to cover much of the eastern half of the nation. This will keep temperatures will below normal around here through tomorrow, and it will also mean a chance of scattered showers. Nothing heavy, and it won't rain everywhere. Just keep in mind a few raindrops are possible.
Interesting to note today will be the 12th day in a row with below normal temperatures, and the 12th day in a row with temperatures below 80 degrees. The mercury has exceeded 80 on only two days so far this month (May 3 and 4). Pretty amazing.
WARMER DAYS: We begin to warm up later in the week; we should reach the upper 70s on Thursday, with low 80s likely Friday. A few showers could show up late Friday or Friday night thanks to a front approaching from the north.
WEEKEND UPDATE: The 00Z GFS keeps the surface boundary stalled over the northern part of Alabama, which means a chance of showers on Saturday and Sunday. If you have something planned outdoors, don't panic. The rain won't be heavy or continuous, and amounts should be light. Just keep in mind a few scattered showers could show up over the weekend. High temperatures will be close to 80 degrees on both days.
NEXT WEEK: The maps look more like May as the westerlies shift northward, and our weather becomes warm and humid. Scattered showers or storms could show up by Tuesday or Wednesday.
LONG RANGE: The GFS shows a typical late May pattern in the May 26-31 time frame. The main upper air winds are well to the north, and we become a graveyard for cold fronts. Each front that drifts in here stalls and fizzles out. And, those decaying fronts can bring some pretty generous rain from time to time with a deep southerly flow of moisture (despite the lack of upper dynamics) coming around the west side of the Bermuda high.
BUSY DAY: Looking forwad to driving up to Guin today. That town will always be linked to one of Alabama's most deadly and violent tornadoes... over 20 were killed there and the Marion County town was just about wiped out during the Superoutbreak on April 3, 1974. I will be speaking to the residents at Sunset Manor there. I hope to have the afternoon map discussion video posted on time by 3:30...
We recorded a new WeatherBrains podcast last night... I will post that shortly!
on May 16, 2006, 6:10 am
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