WARMEST DAY OF THE WEEK: We project a high between 70 and 75 degrees across Alabama today; it will be the warmest day of the week by far. Expect a partly sunny sky, but clouds will increase late in the day ahead of an approaching cold front. The front will bring showers to Alabama tonight and early Tuesday morning; there might be a rumble of thunder, but there is no risk of severe storms. Rain amounts will be light, and the sky becomes sunny during the day Tuesday with a high closer to 60 degrees.
THANKSGIVING: Clouds will increase Wednesday, but the day will be dry with a high in the 60s. Another front will bring rain and a few thunderstorms into Alabama Wednesday night into Thursday. Models still are not in good agreement concerning timing and wind fields; for now, the best idea is that the main window for rain and storms will come from about midnight Wednesday night through noon Thursday. This could change in future forecasts as we get better clarity.
For now, there is no formal severe weather risk defined by NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. At some point a marginal risk might be introduced, but with low instability and unfavorable wind profiles, the overall severe thunderstorm risk looks low. Rain amounts will be around 1 inch for the northern half of Alabama, with amounts of around one-half inch for the southern counties.
Temperatures on Thanksgiving Day will hover in the 50s over north Alabama, with 60s to the south.
FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Much colder air invades the Deep South. The weather will be dry with sunny days and fair nights, but temperatures won’t get out of the 40s over the northern half of the state. A freeze is likely pretty much statewide by Saturday morning, with many places in the 20s.
NEXT WEEK: A secondary surge of cold air arrives late in the weekend, and for Monday and Tuesday most places will see highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. Some colder spots across north Alabama could reach the upper teens early Monday morning. Highs rise a bit, into the 50s over the latter half of the week with lows in the 30s. The air will be dry and there is no risk of any precipitation through the week.
IRON BOWL: The weather will be cold and dry Saturday in Tuscaloosa for this year’s Iron Bowl (Auburn at Alabama, 2:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be sunny, and temperatures will drop from near 48 at kickoff to near 40 by the final whistle.
ON THIS DATE IN 1950: A slow-moving, powerful storm system dumped heavy snow across much of the central Appalachians from Nov. 22 to Nov. 30. Known as “The Great Appalachian Storm of 1950,” the system blanketed areas from western Pennsylvania southward deep into West Virginia with more than 30 inches of snow. Several locations received more than 50 inches, and Coburn Creek, West Virginia, reported the greatest snowfall total — a staggering 62 inches.
Frigid cold also stretched from the Northeast into the Ohio Valley and all the way down into the far Southeast. Temperatures fell to 22 degrees in Pensacola, 5 degrees in Birmingham, 3 degrees in Atlanta and 1 degree in Asheville, North Carolina. The record cold led to widespread crop damage, particularly in Georgia and South Carolina. At the time, the Great Appalachian Storm of 1950 was one of the costliest storms on record, and it contributed to at least 160 deaths.
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