Bright Sunshiny Day…

As I’ve often said before, September is just another summer month this far south.  It doesn’t look like we are going to get a break from the heat soon.  The nights are pleasant, though, if it wasn’t for the humidity.  The humidity makes it feel much warmer than it actually is.  Slight chance of storms Saturday night, but it doesn’t like like a big weather event.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we have some diurnal pop-up thunderstorms today even though it is not in the forecast.  Showers erupted yesterday across north central Alabama causing some excitement on this end of the computer.

Current Conditions…

view Yesterday's Weather La Grange-Callaway Airport Lat: 33.01   Lon: -85.07   Elev: 692 Last Update on Sep 9, 3:55 am EDT Fair 70 °F (21 °C) Humidity: 100 % Wind Speed: Calm Barometer: 29.98" Dewpoint: 70 °F (21 °C) Visibility: 5.00 mi. More Local Wx: 3 Day History:

Will Igor Become a Hurricane?

It looks like Igor is set to become a hurricane sometime during the day on Saturday.  The course is still uncertain this far out.  Some models keep it south heading into the Caribbean.  Other models send it on a northwesterly course to curve into the open Atlantic basin much like that past few storms we have had. 

Another strong wave is set to come off the African coast to skirt the Cape Verde islands.  This is looking much more impressive than the wave that formed Igor.  There is also a tropical wave just north of South America that looks unorganized as of yet. We will have to watch and see if it forms into anything in the next few days.  It’s that time of the year folks – the most active time in the tropics. 

Impacts of Hermine…

As I predicted, Hermine was a much bigger deal than hurricane Earl and The Weather Channel downplayed it.  It caught them by surprise.  There was a lot more flooding and fiscal costs associated with Hermine by far.  Earl was more glamorous and newsworthy to The Weather Channel skirting the east coast headed for such populous regions as Cape Cod, Boston, and New York.  Earl was a flop to be blunt as far as landfall goes much to all our relief. 

More Snow Pictures…

Sticking Good Now!!!

The Weather Blog is Now On Snow Alert!!!!

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON. SNOW WILL BEGIN FALLING AFTER MIDNIGHT THURSDAY NIGHT ACROSS FAR SOUTHWESTERN AREAS NEAR LIVINGSTON AND DEMOPOLIS. THE SNOW WILL QUICKLY SPREAD ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL ALABAMA FRIDAY MORNING. THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF FROM WEST TO EAST LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT SNOW ACCUMULATION OF ONE TO THREE INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA SHOULD TAKE THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS AND PREPARE FOR POSSIBLE SNOW ACCUMULATION ON FRIDAY. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THIS POTENTIAL WINTER WEATHER EPISODE. A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATION THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.

Snow and Freezing Rain to Our North…

Weekend Weather...

La Grange-Callawy Airport Lat: 33.01   Lon: -85.07   Elev: 692 Last Update on Feb 16, 10:40 am EST Fair 59°F (15°C) Humidity: 77 % Wind Speed: N 3 MPH Barometer: 30.22" Dewpoint: 52°F (11°C) Visibility: 10.00 mi. More Local Wx: 3 Day History:

It was a chilly start to the day, but temperatures have rebounded nicely.  The sun is brilliantly shining through partly cloudy skies outside my windows. 

Severe weather weather is going to be the topic for today and tomorrow.  The NWS has said that the chance for tornadoes in the biggest storms is very high.  A potent cold front crosses the southern plains brining severe storms and snow on the back side of the system.  Places like Amarillo are under a winter storm warning.  Driving will be treacherous during the overnight hours.

City	Sat.	Sun.	Mon.	Tues.	City	Sat.	Sun.	Mon.	Tues.
Chicago	33	40	20	22	Indianapolis	37	52	28	29
Detroit	29	42	30	25	Cleveland	27	50	34	26
Houston	73	70	61	65	Atlanta	66	63	54	52
Pittsburgh	30	54	40	26	Buffalo	26	41	41	26
Washington, D.C.	42	48	60	42	Philadelphia	37	45	56	40
New York City	35	44	56	40	Boston	31	40	55	40

Rain on the Way...

Fair 50°F (10°C) Humidity: 88 % Wind Speed: W 7 MPH Barometer: 30.05" Dewpoint: 46°F (8°C) Wind Chill: 47°F (8°C) Visibility: 10.00 mi. More Local Wx: 3 Day History:

Our next rain chance comes Tuesday night. The NWS has us for a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Temperatures will be mild in the 60s.

We will be getting close to 70 today. The NWS has us down for 66. I think that is too conservative.

The big weather news story today is the arctic blast invading the northern plains. A blast of cold air will herald in blowing snow and bitter cold temperatures. This will make for dangerous blizzard conditions and blinding whiteouts.

The combination of the arctic air mass and strong winds will produce dangerous wind chill temperatures across the northern Plains and Upper Midwest. The temperatures are expected to drop as much as 30 degrees in locations across the region. Many locations will have actual low temperatures well below zero tonight.

Deadly Tennessee Skies

From The Weather Guy in Tennessee...

28 killed in Tuesday night's tornadoes
150 injured

63 injuries treated at the tiny Macon General Hospital
22 serious injuries by Vanderbilt Medical Center

1500 homes damaged or destroyed in Macon County near Lafayette
130 miles was the length the thunderstorm traveled that dropped tornadoes in Hickman County, Williamson County, Sumner County, and Macon County.

Deathly Weather

Dangerous storms roamed the Southeast last night. Deaths were reported in several southern states with lots of tornado touchdowns. I have been out of pocket on my weather blog due to a busy day on my main blog. I hope you all enjoy today's sunset posted below.

Quiet weather seems to be in store for the next week. Temps should get down to around freezing tonight and most nights this weekend only to rebound during the day. It already feels really chilly when I took my trash out a moment ago. There is a slight chance of showers Friday night, but the NWS doesn't think it will amount to much. Have a great night and start to your day tomorrow!

Sunshine on my Mind...

The sun is out.  The waning hours of daylight are approaching.  We will see above seventy degree temperatures today with an approaching vigorous cold front.  Could we get severe weather?  The cap on the atmosphere seems to be breaking with storms erupting in the sunshine in western Alabama (they've seen sunshine for much longer than the east).  I wouldn't be surprised if the NWS puts us under a severe weather watch. 

Currently we are under a:

Hazardous Weather Outlook

and a Lake Wind Advisory

Storm Watch

It is another warm spring-like day.  Usually, such warm weather forebodes severe weather, but the National Weather Service has our chances as slight.  The severe weather is much more likely to our North.  Some showers are already beginning to break out in front of the approaching cold front.  From the National Weather Service...

.NOW...

A FEW SHOWERS ARE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA AT THIS HOUR. THESE SHOWERS ARE MOVING QUICKLY TO THE NORTHEAST AT AROUND 30 MPH. THE RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL GENERALLY BE LIGHT...WITH TOTALS LESS THAN ONE TENTH OF AN INCH. THE SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THROUGH MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON.

Spring-esque

Warm, spring-like night with some fog being reported. You can hear the tree frogs peeping off in my neighborhood enjoying the spring-like respite. Really nice sunset as well as I drove on the interstate coming back from Lagrange. Clearing tomorrow should continue till about nightfall. Severe storms are predicted to move in in the overnight hours. The chance of severe storms is 60 percent.

Storm Mode

We are in storm mode here at Andrew's Weather Blog. Some sources are saying we will have severe weather tonight. We are under a slight risk as reported by the Storm Prediction Center. It is also extremely windy today with a tight pressure gradient. Tonight's forecast...

Tonight: Periods of showers and thunderstorms before 2am, then isolated showers. Some of the storms could be severe, with damaging winds. Low around 43. Breezy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph becoming northwest. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

In The Clear...

It seems we are in the clear as far as icy weather goes. I set my alarm clock to wake up at 4 AM to find a rain softly falling. The temperature is currently 34 at 4:48 AM. This is a very cold rain, though. Somehow, we just can't punch past that thermal barrier of 34 to 33 degrees. I am disappointed in not getting wintry weather, but am pretty glad the power didn't go out as can often happen in an ice storm. I can't live without my Internet.

 

Another big story is the rains in the West. Los Angeles is reporting flooding and they've had more rain in this storm than all of 2007. Isn't that just incredible?

 

Rainfall totals on Thursday in California include:

• Santa Barbara: 5.41"
• Morro Bay: 3.59"
• Oxnard: 3.55"
• Santa Maria: 3.16"
• Beverly Hills: 2.36"
• Downtown L.A.: 1.61"

Looking back at the East, the energy that will spark the icy mix across the Deep South by late Saturday will develop into a potent storm off the Eastern Seaboard. Bands of energy spiraling out from the core of the storm from late Sunday into Monday could pump snow and gusty winds into southeastern New England, including Boston, Mass., and Providence, R.I.

A look at the temperatures across the nation for the next few days will show another arctic blast on Tuesday for much of the Midwest with a moderating trend in the South...

City	Sat.	Sun.	Mon.	Tue.	City	Sat.	Sun.	Mon.	Tue.
Bismarck	34	37	19	2	Minneapolis	26	34	42	12
Chicago	30	40	46	33	Omaha	40	39	49	22
Detroit	30	34	40	38	Pittsburgh	34	37	44	47
Washington, D.C.	40	41	48	45	Philadelphia	36	40	44	44
New York City	35	38	42	44	Boston	36	33	35	44
Raleigh	48	52	55	61	Atlanta	50	58	56	60

Caledonia, Miss. Tornado

From ABC News...

This bus was sucked into the tornado's funnel in Caledonia, Miss. The huge vehicle was hurled like a toy on top of a high school gymnasium about 2 p.m. when students were still in class.

Luckily students were safe inside the solid brick walls, but the principal ordered everyone to take cover in the hallways.

Student Ryan Putnam said it was a terrifying experience.

"They had to move us all into one part of the school in the hallways. As we were sitting there, a girl sitting in front of me, she just passed out. I tried to shake her up, wiggle her and she wouldn't wake up," Putnam said.

Two students suffered minor injuries, but the damage could have been far worse if the tornado hit while students were boarding buses.

Tornado Watch Until Midnight

A new Tornado Watch has been posted that goes until 12 midnight for the rest of East Alabama. It is near certain that a number of those counties will be in the clear before midnight.  If you live in Eastern Alabama keep abreast of deteriorating weather conditions.  The atmosphere is starting to cool after the heating of the day so that lessens our chances, somewhat, of severe weather.

The Weather is a Hoppin'

Busy weather day in the South.  A strong line of storms fueled by the heating of the day, a vigorous cold front, and surging Gulf moisture is marching across the South bringing severe weather to Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.  I suggest visiting the ABC 33/40 weather blog for up to date weather warnings and severe weather.  They are posting up to tens times per hour with the latest storm information

Rainy Day Thursday...

The South is in store for some much needed rain today.  We are still dealing with a quite a deficit -- the drought being one of the worst in recorded history.  All the ingredients are coming together for severe weather as well.  Keep an eye and ear out for tornadoes.   We could possibly be seeing 1 to 2 inches in some areas. 

This cold front will clear the Southeastern States later Friday, but stall out over the northern Gulf of Mexico keeping a few showers along the coast on Saturday.

There is some forecast uncertainty with regards to Sunday, as some computer forecast models indicate an area of low pressure developing along this stalled front, while others do not.  This is the much vaunted winter storm that ABC 33/40 has been touting for weeks.  The proof is still in the pudding. 

The Northeast is looking at more snow for the higher elevations and rain in the valleys. 

More Severe Weather Tomorrow...

Severe weather is defined by the National Weather Service as a thunderstorm with winds 58 mph or greater, 3/4 inch or larger hail, or tornadoes.  The weather should prove interesting as more Severe weather pushes through the South.  Much will depend on the timing and the heating of the day.  Keep an eye to the sky and a browser tuned to this blog.  A weather radio is also a great resource to have when violent weather threatens. 

Nengaku Deals with the Wind...

Nengaku writes...

I don't know what the speed of the winds are today but they are literally blowing apart my barn!

He is dealing with the brisk winds in upstate New York. The winds have even done some damage to his barn. Visit Nengaku's Hermitage for photos.