**No afternoon weather briefing video today…we have a holiday schedule; only one video per day until sunday**
HAPPY THANKSGIVING: As expected, today was a dry, mild Thanksgiving day across Alabama with temperatures in the low 70’s in many areas this afternoon. That’s about ten degrees above the average for November 24th. Rain will move into the state tonight and stop tomorrow morning; Amounts of 1/2 to 1 inch are likely. Light thunderstorms are possible, but severe thunderstorms are not to be feared.
Most of the rain will pass by midday tomorrow and the weather will be dry tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. We forecast a high in the mid 60’s tomorrow afternoon.
REST OF THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND: Saturday will be mostly cloudy and mild with a high of between 65 and 70 degrees. Scattered showers are likely to develop over the western half of the state through the afternoon, but rain will be widespread across the state Saturday night. Some severe thunderstorms are possible over the state’s southwest corner, where SPC has defined a “low risk” (Level 1/5) of severe storms. A few storms there could create strong gusty winds. There is also a conditional threat of a tornado or two, but no severe storms are expected for the rest of the state.
The Saturday night/early Sunday rain event should also bring about an inch of rain to the state. Skies will be partly sunny on Sunday afternoon as dry air returns; the high Sunday is in the mid to upper 60s.
NEXT WEEK: Dry weather is Monday and Tuesday’s story with highs in the high 60s and low 70s. Then a dynamic system will drive rain and storms into the state on Wednesday. A few strong to severe storms cannot be ruled out, but it is still too early to define the threat. Dry and cooler air arrives Thursday and Friday with highs in the 50s. Watch the daily weather briefing video for maps, graphs and more details.
HIGH SCHOOL PLAYOFF GAMES: Tomorrow night the weather will be dry for the high school football games across Alabama. Skies will be mostly cloudy with temperatures generally in the 50’s.
IRON BOWL: It’s going to be a mild day for Alabama’s biggest football game of the year on Saturday (Auburn at Alabama; kick-off at 2:30 p.m. CT)…expect a temperature of nearly 70 degrees at every kick-off. A shower or two is possible during the game, but the most widespread rain will not reach Tuscaloosa until after the game is over. There is a 40-45 percent chance of a passing shower on Saturday afternoon. Temperatures will drop to the low 60s by the final whistle and rain will spread across West Alabama through 9:00 a.m. Saturday night.
We should note that Saturday morning should be dry for the tailgaters.
ON THIS DATE IN 2001: Three dozen tornadoes made landfall in Alabama. The first major tornado of the day cut a 39-mile path from near Kennedy in Lamar County to just south of Carbon Hill in Walker County. Two people died in a trailer near Kennedy. An F2 tornado sliced a short path through the Winston County town of Haleyville just before 11:30 a.m., injuring thirteen people.
Just northeast of Birmingham, an F2 tornado was moving along I-59 near Argo as it cut a nearly 14-mile path in St. Clair County.
The strongest tornado of the day made landfall about 1:19 p.m. EDT southeast of Oneonta in Blount County. The tornado dealt three different areas of F4 damage. The day’s other two fatalities occurred just after 3 p.m. near Sand Rock in Cherokee County when an F2 tornado cut an 8-mile path. Here, too, the fatalities were in a mobile home.
ON THIS DATE IN 2004: A total of 16 tornadoes made landfall in Alabama, including one that made landfall near Talladega Superspeedway. It would continue through Bynum, where two mobile homes were badly damaged by fallen trees, one of those trees killing a 75-year-old woman.
BEACH FORECAST: Click here to view the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.
Look here for the next weather briefing video by 6:00 tomorrow…
category: Weather in Alabama, ALL POSTS