Saturday dawned bright and beautiful across Alabama, but it was awfully chilly. Morning readings included 12F at Oneonta, 13F at Gadsden, 14F at Jasper, 15F at Haleyville, 16F at Pell City and Sylacauga, and 17F at Demopolis. Tuscaloosa hit 18F, Birmingham and Anniston registered 19F. The day was beautiful and a little milder, with highs in the lower and middle 50s for the most part, with just a few upper 40s in the stubbornly colder locations in Northeast Alabama. A few high clouds did stream across the sky over North Alabama during the afternoon, giving the sky a little bit of a milky appearance at times. Lows overnight dropped into the upper 20s north with readings near freezing over the rest of the state.
FOR YOUR SUNDAY: Clouds are increasing across Alabama on this final Sunday of January 2025 as a disturbance passes well to our northeast, pushing a cold front our way. The increased cloud cover will hold temperatures back a bit today, keeping readings in the 40s over the northern half of the state, with lower 50s over South Central Alabama, in places like Demopolis, Centreville, and Auburn. A few showers could reach the northwestern portion of the state by early afternoon, but the main rainfall will not enter the state until this evening. It will be a wet overnight, with a half inch of rain falling across North and Central Alabama. Not expecting any thunder. Lows will be in the 40s, although we will be watching carefully for any freezing conditions that get trapped in the valleys of Northeast Alabama overnight, just in case any freezing rain develops for a short time.
NEW WORK WEEK: On Monday, northwesterly winds behind the front will dry things out and allow skies to slowly clear. High temperatures will be in the 49F-56F range. The real warmup will begin Tuesday as readings warm into the 50s over the northern half of the area with lower 60s over the southern part of Central Alabama under a good supply of sunshine. Things will be dry. Wednesday will be warmer still, but the upward motion from another passing wave could trigger a few showers. Highs on Wednesday will be in the 60s, ranging from 58F around Scottsboro to 62F at Birmingham, to 69F at Montgomery. Troy could top 70F!
END OF THE WEEK: By Thursday, the big bowling ball of an upper low over the southwestern United States will begin to lift out and weaken, but as it does, it will trigger a more widespread round of rain and storms for Texas, with widespread snows for New Mexico. Parts of the Land of Enchantment could pick up 18-24 inches of snow! Places like Las Vegas, NM, Taos, and even Albuquerque will get the heavier snows! But for us here in Alabama, Thursday will be a dry day with clearing skies and cooler temperatures in the 50s. A stronger system will swing our way on Friday, with a warm front lifting north across the state during the day, accompanied by a few showers. It will become breezy as the southerly flow intensifies over the state.
FOR YOUR WEEKEND: Saturday will be a cold and wet day, with highs in the upper 40s and lower 50s and several hours of steady rain. Good day to make some chili and watch basketball. A developing subtropical high to our east over the western Atlantic will keep the fronts from completely clearing the area, and a few showers will linger into Sunday. That will roll over into the week two period, which we affectionately know as…
VOODOO TERRITORY: The rest of the forecast period will be wet, with numerous rounds of rain over Alabama, especially the northwestern half of the state, but everyone looks to get in on the action. Two week totals could approach 7 inches over the northwestern half of the area.
-BEACHCAST: Sunny skies today along the beautiful beaches of Alabama and Northwest Florida, but clouds will return tonight into tomorrow and be in the forecast through midweek along with some showers, especially Monday. It will be milder though, with highs in the 60s each day this except. The beaches could touch 70F on Wednesday. Water temperatures are quite chilly, in the lower 50s, about 35 degrees colder than they were in July and August. The rip current risk looks low for the foreseeable future, which is about Wednesday.
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DANCING WITH THE STATS: If you’re tired of the cold, how about the 88F at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday that was a record for the date?
WEATHERBRAINS: We remembered the legendary Dr. Chuck Doswell, who passed away last weekend on last week’s show. This week, it will be a storm chasing focused showed with Jen Walton and Heath Lollar. Check out the show at www.WeatherBrains.com. You can also subscribe on iTunes. You can watch the show live on our new YouTube channel for the show and you can see the live show on the James Spann 24×7 weather channel on cable or directly over the air on the dot 2 feed.
ON THIS DATE IN 2020: An EF-3 tornado moved through Fultondale, just north of downtown Birmingham, killing one person (14 year old Elliott Hernandez) and injuring about 30 more. The parent storm was first tracked from near Interstate 55 in Central Mississippi. As the storm moved across Mississippi and into West Alabama, it exhibited episodes of rotation, but none were strong enough to produce a tornado. As the storm entered Jefferson County, its structure underwent organization. A rotational signature quickly matured, and a tornado warning was issued at 10:34 p.m. About ten minutes later, the tornado started to produce damage. The tornado began along Chapel Hills Parkway, where minor shingle damage occurred. The tornado tracked northeastward across Ellard Road and directly over the Walker Chapel Road overpass on Interstate 65. It was at this interstate exit where the tornado began to intensify rapidly, snapping numerous power poles and causing substantial damage to a hotel. The tornado continued northeastward, crossing Highway 31, causing mostly tree damage along the highway. As the tornado moved into residential areas along Fulton Drive and Lykes Boulevard, substantial damage occurred with several homes being destroyed with at least one being swept off the foundation. The tornado was down for 10.4 miles, and the maximum path width was 900 yards. Follow my weather history tweets on Twitter. I am @wxhistorian at Twitter.com.
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