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March 3 Weather Xtreme Video
From: abc3340 Views: 324 2 ratings Time: 06:03 More in News & Politics

The snow we saw most of today will be tapering off as we head through the rest of tonight. Along with the snow, the clouds will be slowly getting out of here as well. With already cold temperatures and clearing skies, we can expect overnight lows to bottom out in the mid 20s in central Alabama. Very cold temperatures for this time of year when our average low is around 40. Looking at the forecast lows for tomorrow morning we will see bitterly cold weather all the way down to the Gulf Coast, where below freezing temps are expected.

Across our part of the state, most areas will see the mid 20s. Birmingham will see a low of 26 and the areas out away from the city will be 23-25. Temperatures will be closer to 20 across portions of the Tennessee Valley. We will continue to see a light north wind as well, a very cold winter’s night in this the first weekend of March. Make sure you bundle up when you head out the door in the morning. We will see ample sunshine tomorrow, but afternoon highs will only make it into the mid 40s.

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Across Central Alabama snowflakes and some light snow showers continue late this afternoon and evening. Snow should continue into the overnight hours but should really begin to taper off around midnight. Across portions of northern Tuscaloosa, Walker, Jefferson, Blount and St. Claire Counties, there are some more intense snow echoes showing up on radar. That activity will continue to drift south for the next few hours. Some snow showers are showing up in Tallapoosa County around Alexander City too.

Still no significant accumulations and no road or travel problems. We should make it through this event with very little impacts. Across the Tennessee Valley, there is a chance for a few slick spots later tonight, but most locations should be ok.

Throughout  tonight, clouds and snow should get out of here and clearing skies will allow for temperatures to drop into the lower to mid 20s by tomorrow morning. Bundle up as you head out the door in the morning.

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The last month of meteorological winter saw a wide range of rain fall totals across the state of Alabama. Depending where you were in the state, you would have seen anywhere from a couple of inches of rain to nearly two feet. The southern counties in the state were the big winners as several frontal boundaries stalled across the region, providing copious amounts of rain fall. Much of the rain fell in the last week of the month. Here is a map of the rainfall totals across the state for the month of February.

Last week I discussed how the drought conditions were improving across the state, and I was anxious to see how the week’s rain fall would be affecting the drought conditions. This image is for the drought conditions before the last main frontal system stalled across the region. Still many portions of the south and southeastern Alabama were still having drought impacts.

With the latest drought monitor, big changes have occurred. The heavy rains from the last system have drastically improved these conditions. A look at the latest drought conditions shows just over 11% of the state is abnormally dry or experiencing drought conditions. A big change from the week before and now only portions of Randolph, Chambers and Tallapoosa Counties still have drought conditions. Conditions should continue to get better as several additional storm systems are in the forecast, and hopefully these dry areas can get caught up on rainfall and no drought conditions will persist.

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AL.com/Birmingham News Reporter Mike Oliver penned an excellent article about our efforts to bring all of the elements of the weather enterprise across Central Alabama together to share, network, learn and serve.

Here is a link to the article.

We have the opportunity to make some big things happen in the Association, with top notch learning experiences, excellent speakers (including some nationally known ones), outreach in the community and helping deserving students.

if you love weather, come help us make things happen.

Join now at: http://groupspaces.com/CentralAlabamaNWAChapter

You can pay your dues online on that page as well. They are $26.06 for the year paying online. This grants you admission to all three big chapter meetings. It will also give you access to the outreach activities, service opportunities, social events and other involvement experiences.

Follow the chapter on Twitter as well @centralalnwa

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The latest scan of the radar shows more widespread and heavier snow showers now making their way into the Tennessee Valley of North Alabama. I have seen a few reports from Madison and Limestone Counties of pretty descent snow showers ongoing. Up in Nashville, they have had light snow for several hours. This activity will continue to head south into Alabama for the rest of the afternoon. Some areas could still see a dusting on grassy areas and rooftops. These heavy snow showers are still a couple of hours away from making it into the Birmingham metro.

Winter precip has been reported all across the northern two-thirds of Alabama. Snow has been reported in Selma, Troy and Opelika. Early this afternoon, most of the snow in the part of the state has turned over to a rain/sleet mix. Still seeing the flakes fly across our part of the state, but expect this activity to increase as the heavier activity north of us makes its way into our part of the state.

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Shelby County Snow
Snow falling at Calera this morning on the second day of meteorological spring. From ABC 33/40's Marcus Stroud... From: abc3340 Views: 837 2 ratings Time: 00:40 More in News & Politics

Snow reports coming in from all over the state, nothing major and no travel impacts. Mostly reports of flurries and light snow showers. The cold and the wind seem the be the main issue today. Temperatures are hovering in the mid to upper 30s. Very cold conditions today and the winds are making it feel more unpleasant. A brisk northwest wind 10-15mph will continue to blow today, winds chills are mostly in the upper 20s.

We are expecting snow flurries and snow showers to last most of today and some areas will still likely see a dusting as heavier snow showers move in from Tennessee as seen on the radar. Bundle up if you head out to today as it remains very cold and blustery. Truly a raw winter’s day across Alabama.

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The NWS has cancelled the Winter Weather Advisory for Central Alabama.

A few light snow showers continue are this hour, but they are very light.

There is one decent small snow shower in the Pincon vcinity moving down toward Trussville. If you’re lucky in parts of Northeast Jefferson County, you might see a brief flizzard!

There could see a few brief hevier snow showers at times like this one into the early afternoon, but accumulations, if any, will be very light.

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Lots of reports of snow flurries and some light snow across the area this morning.

Radar shows very faint echoes on reflectivity across much of the southeastern half of Walker County across the southwestern two thirds of Jefferson County, then over much of Shelby County on into southern Talladega, Coosa eastern Chilton and even into Elmore Counties.

You can see that on this radar with a more sensitive color table.

Here is a dual panel with reflectivity on the left and Dual Pol Hydrometeor Classification on the right. I left the legend up for the right panel. You can see plenty of graupel in peach, dry snow in light blue and unknown in magenta (probably a mix).

Graupel is what happens when snowflakes run into supercooled water droplets and freeze into little white pellets. They look like small hail, but they’re not hail, and they’re not sleet. They’re graupel!

Some reports from the Flizzard:

…7:43 Flurries getting heavier in Alabaster
…7:36 Light snow in Cahaba Heights sticking to roofs
…7:26 Nice snow shower in Columbiana
…7:14 Snow flurries in Chelsea. Large flakes.
…7:05 Snowing in Columbus MS
…7:02 @lhcoop says “Light snow coming down this morning in Jasper. March is roaring in like a lion!”
…6:52 It’s snowing in Moody and sticking to rooftops!

Here is a picture from Section in Northeast Alabama courtesy of Brian Harper via Jason Simpson at WHNT.

Only a few lucky folks will see enough snow to stick on colder objects like grills, decks and cars. Heavier showers may stick on roofs and grass. There are no reports of any road problems at all across Central Alabama. The winter weather advisory continues til noon for Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah, Fayette, Jefferson, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston Counties. The advisory was canceled for DeKalb and Jackson Counties earlier.

Muscle Shoals did set a record for snowfall yesterday. They recorded a trace. Woohoo! That tied the record set in 2005. Who says it never snows in Alabama?

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Through out most of the night, most areas have seen snow flakes flying in the cold air. As we check the radar, it is hard for the radar to see snow, like it does other forms of precip. Currently heaviest snow shower showing up on radar is over western sections of Jefferson County. Reports of snow falling from Oak Grove, Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, Concord and Bessemer. Nothing too heavy and not causing travel problems. Just because it is not showing up on radar, doesn’t mean its not snowing,  most places are seeing flakes flying.

Across the rest of North Alabama, a lot of other snow reports coming in, our Skywatcher Vic Bell in Black Creek reported a passing snow shower this morning produced enough snow to cover the roof tops, but nothing on the ground or roads. We are expecting more snow showers to move in to the state throughout the morning. A look at a regional radar shows heavier and more concentrated snow showers along I-65 from Nashville into southern Kentucky. Those showers will be coming down the interstate and will be into North Alabama in a little while. Still not expecting any travel issues, but some areas could see a dusting today, with most of the snow on roof tops and grassy areas.

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An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

Old man winter has a pretty firm grip on the eastern half of the country today and he’s expected to maintain that hold through Sunday. The cold core upper low will be swinging across the northern half of Alabama today bringing with it some snow flurries and some snow showers. Snow amounts are not going to be significant, but it is possible that with any snow showers that develop that the ground could turn white with a dusting of snow. I do not expect to see any significant travel issues today. The NWS has a winter weather advisory for much of Central Alabama until noon today. And it will be cold with highs only in the lower 40s. Tonight as the strong northwesterly flow maintains the flow of cold air into the Southeast, look for lows to drop into the middle 20s with some of the typically colder spots getting down to near 20.

Sunshine should return on Sunday but it will remain cold with highs in the middle 40s. An upper ridge moves over us on Monday, and we warm up nicely with highs returning to near seasonal values as we break into the lower 60s. The next storm system is dives out of the North Central US into the Lower Mississippi River Valley on Monday night and into Tuesday bringing us another shot of rain. Rainfall amounts will be somewhat light due to limited moisture. No organized severe weather is expected, but we could see a few isolated thunderstorms as the surface low moves by on Tuesday. With a fairly fast flow, the rain should move out quickly Tuesday with sunshine back on Wednesday.

As the upper trough passes, we see cold air return once more as lows drop back to freezing on Wednesday morning. The high on Wednesday will be in the lower 50s, but as a strong ridge moves into the eastern US, we should see a steady warm up for Central Alabama with highs back into the 60s as we head into next weekend.

Looking into week 2, another deep trough with a closed low is forecast to move across the Lower Mississippi River Valley on March 11th brining a round of rain and storms with it. For the rest of voodoo country, the GFS is building a big ridge into the eastern US and keeping it in place. This will set up a southwesterly flow for us and could produce a wet period with a steady flow of Pacific moisture.

And you can follow news and weather updates from ABC 33/40 on Twitter here. Stay in the know by following the whole gang – here’s the list…

James Spann Charles Daniel Ashley Brand J. B. Elliott Bill Murray Brian Peters E-Warn (AL wx watches/warnings)

I’m heading out to a Masquerade Ball this evening benefiting the Helena Belles scholarship fund. This is a first for me since I can’t recall ever going to a Masquerade Ball. I’ve even have a special mask made for me by my daughter. Enjoy this cold day and I hope everyone gets to see a little snow. Godspeed.

-Brian-

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March 2 Weather Xtreme Video
From: abc3340 Views: 387 3 ratings Time: 07:24 More in News & Politics

Photograph by Kathy Bell, owner of kbella photography.

March marks the start of both meteorological and astronomical spring. It is definitely a time of transition in Alabama. As the days lengthen and the sun moves higher in the sky, average temperatures start to climb. The average high in Birmingham at the start of the month is 62F. By month’s end, the average daytime high is 70F. The average low at the start of the month is 39F. By March 31st, the average is 45F. The warmest it has ever been in March was 90F on March 21st, 1907, as Birmingham was in the middle of an unusual heat wave.

The coldest March reading in Birmingham history was 2F on March 14, 1993. That was the day after the 1993 blizzard, which is also remarkable for producing the city’s biggest snowfall ever, 13 inches at the Airport. The temperature generally drops to freezing or below on 6.1 days in the month. The average date of the last freeze usually occurs in mid to late March.

March is the wettest month of the year in Birmingham. On average, 6.10 inches of rain falls in the Magic City. The 15.80 inches that fell in march 1980 is the most ever recorded in the third month of the year. It occurred during a month of flooding. It rains on 11.0 days on average, which ranks third behind July at 12.4 days and January at 11.2 days.

Thunderstorms occur on 4.5 days. The months of April through August are all stormier, but March does mark the beginning of the primary severe weather season, at least in North and Central Alabama. Alabama’s deadliest tornado outbreak in history occurred on March 21, 1932.

The percentage of possible sunshine is on the increase, averaging 55% in the month, up from the 42 percent that is typical of January, but still less than the 66 percent we usually see in May and October. The sky is cloudy 41 percent of the time. It is clear 24.2 percent of the time.

March is tied with April as the windiest month of the year, with an average wind speed of 10.4 mph.

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Lots of reports of snow and mixed precipitation coming in from across North and Central Alabama.

You can see from the radar that the precipitation is very, very light. It should get a little heavier late tonight and early Saturday morning as a trough of low pressure swings across the area.

Some recent reports…

…light snow reported at Good Hope in Cullman County
…@KN4TX reported flakes on the northern side of Lake Tuscaloosa
…a light sleet and snow mix being reported in Odenville
…light snow in Hazel Green
…mix of snow, sleet and rain at Trussville.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for the northern part of Central Alabama until noon Saturday. Counties included are: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah, Fayette, Jefferson, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Winston as well as DeKalb and Jackson Counties in Northeast Alabama.

Areas in the winter weather advisory will anywhere from no snow to a dusting of snow, with areas that see heavier snow showers perhaps getting 1/2 to 1 inch of snow. The heavier amounts are more likely in the higher elevations north and east of Birmingham.

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The NWS in Birmingham has issued a winter weather advisory for North-Central Alabama for tonight and tomorrow….

Scroll down for the details of the expected wintry weather this weekend….

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March 1 Weather Xtreme Video - Afternoon Edition
From: abc3340 Views: 1324 5 ratings Time: 07:21 More in News & Politics

An all new edition of the ABC 33/40 Weather Xtreme video is available in the player on the right sidebar of the blog. You can subscribe to the Weather Xtreme video on iTunes by clicking here.

METEOROLOGICAL SPRING STARTS OFF COLD: Sure doesn’t feel like the first of March this afternoon Cullman is reporting only 35 degrees at mid-afternoon… Birmingham is at 43. These temperatures are well below the values printed by the computer models, and about 20 degrees below average for the first day of March in Alabama. We have had a number of reports of snow flurries over the northern third of the state over the past few hours, but nothing really significant.

SNOW SHOWERS: The NWS in Huntsville has issued a winter weather advisory for Jackson and DeKalb Counties of far Northeast Alabama, this is where around one inch of snow is likely across higher terrain, especially over 1,000 feet. Our thinking hasn’t changed much at all… snow showers are likely across the northern half of Alabama late tonight and tomorrow. The snow showers will be scattered, but they can be locally heavy and can sure make the ground white in a hurry. We expect a dusting to one-half inch on grassy areas, with the main window for snow showers coming from about midnight tonight through 6:00 p.m. tomorrow.

Generally speaking, we don’t expect any travel issues. But, early tomorrow morning temperatures will be below freezing for brief time, so watch for a few isolated slick spots where snow showers are falling. And, should there be any leftover moisture late tomorrow night a touch of black ice is possible early Sunday morning. But, strong winds should evaporate most of the standing moisture before we go below freezing.

Otherwise, tomorrow will be raw, blustery, and cold with temperatures struggling to get out of the 30s. MOS products from models are way too warm, like today. An icy north wind of 10-20 mph will make it feel even colder. Sure isn’t good baseball weather.

Sunday morning will feature a low between 22 and 27 degrees, followed by a high in the mid to upper 40s Sunday afternoon. The sky should be mostly sunny Sunday thanks to sinking air in the wake of the upper trough.

NEXT WEEK: A dynamic weather system will bring a chance of rain showers to Alabama after midnight Monday night into Tuesday. Moisture will be limited, and rain amounts should be 1/2 inch or less. Then, dynamic cooling would bring a few snow showers or flurries to North/Central Alabama Tuesday night, but for now accumulation doesn’t look likely. Wednesday will feature a clearing sky and colder temperatures.

We should note that system will have the potential to spin up a very significant nor’easter for the middle U.S. Atlantic Coast Wednesday of next week, with potential for heavy snow around Washington and Baltimore. The Ash Wednesday snow of 1962 is being kicked around as an analog, but way too early to be specific for our friends there.

We finally warm up late next week, with highs in the 60s likely one week from today (Friday March 8). See the Weather Xtreme video for more long range ideas and details.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.

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I had a great time today seeing kids at the Trinity Methodist CDC (Child Development Center) in Homewood, and at Wylam K-8 School in Birmingham. Lots of good action coming up on the Pepsi KIDCAM today at 5:00 and 6:00 on ABC 33/40 News. Brian Peters will have the video updates tomorrow and Sunday; my next Weather Xtreme video will be posted bright and early Monday morning by 7:00 a.m. Enjoy the weekend!

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I say that tongue in cheek, since this will not be a significant snow event in any way for North or Central Alabama.

But snowflakes are flying across parts of northern Alabama and northern Georgia, so I will declare Operation Snow Watch officially in effect.

A few snow flurries have been reported near Mentone and over in Rome GA with a mix near Fort Payne earlier. Snowflakes were flying in Hackleburg and Pride AL according to reports. It was spitting snow in Oneonta according to a report on Twitter.

Within the past hour, the PING project has picked up two reports of snow from Kimestone and Madison Counties, with an ice pellets/snowflake mix out of Cullman county.

Radar is showing a few spits and sputters of snowflakes over Northwest Alabama, mainly over Franklin, Marion and Winston Counties, with more back toward Corinth MS that will be pushing into Alabama later. But these won’t cause any accumulations.

Clouds are thick across the northern half of Alabama, extending down into South Central Alabama. They will continue to thicken through the afternoon as some mid level moisture slides into the area in association with the big upper trough that is moving our way.

There is still a little bit of sun down around Auburn and over in LaGrange GA. Temperatures are in the lower 40s in the I-20 corridor at this hour, with upper 30s over the Tennessee Valley.

Any accumulations will come tonight and Saturday morning as snow showers develop in the slight instability caused by the cold temperatures with the trough moving across.

Accumulations will be small, from nothing at any to spotty dusting to 1/2 inch amounts, mainly for areas north of a line from Reform to Hoover to Wedowee. The best chance will be in the higher elevations north and east of Birmingham. Any accumulations will be on grassy areas and roads should not be a problem.

The best chance for snow in the Birmingham area should be Saturday morning between 6 and noon, mainly between 6 and 9, when the better moisture will be in the snow growth regions aloft.

As always with these kinds of events, there will be surprises. Areas that see a heavier snow shower could see a quick coating on grassy areas.

Central Alabama could see snow flurries Saturday morning as far south as the US-80 corridor.

The best chances for an inch of snow will be across southern Kentucky, extending down into Middle Tenenssee. It is snowing at Paducah and Hopkinsville KY at this hour.

Add your precipitation reports below.

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Our friend Steve Jones of AlabamaQuake just passed on an earthquake report for a quake that occurred just west southwest of Cordova at 10:53 a.m.

The magnitude was 2.7.

For more info, go to http://alabamaquake.com

Did you feel the quake?

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