Mostly Cloudy with Showers and Storms….

IT WILL BE A MESSY NIGHT THROUGHOUT THE AREA.  WE WILL SEE SHOWERS AND STORMS MOVING THROUGH DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AND INTO THE MORNING TOMORROW.  BY THE EVENING HOURS, WE SHOULD SEE THE SKIES CLEARING WHICH WILL BE GREAT NEWS FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NEW YEAR’S PLANS.  NEW YEAR’S DAY WILL BE MOSTLY SUNNY WITH HIGHS IN THE MID 50S AND LOWS IN THE LOWER 30S.  HAVE A GREAT NIGHT!

Updated by:  Michael White

Mostly Cloudy and Mild

Greetings from the WVUA-TV WeatherCenter it was a warm day across all of
Alabama as we reached a high of 71 degrees. The high for you Saturday will be 70 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. Tomorrow winds will pick up out of the southeast at 10 to 15mph, with gusts up to 30mph. At the same time a nasty squall line will be pushing across
Mississippi and it is going to be in east Mississippi around 9pm. At this time the biggest threat of severe weather and tornadoes as of right now is going to be south of an Aliceville to Troy line. North of this line isolated severe weather can not be ruled out. We will be in early tomorrow to watch this line of storms as they work across Mississippi and we will post updates on the blog. Be sure to keep referring back to the blog because we will post the Hazardous Weather Outlook issued by the NWS by 1pm tomorrow. Stay safe and have a good day.

Updated by:

Michael White  

Partly Cloudy and Cool….

TONIGHT, SKIES WILL BE PARTLY CLOUDY AND TEMPS WILL STAY ABOVE FREEZING WITH LOWS DROPPING DOWN 40 DEGREES.  TOMORROW, EXPECT OVERCAST SKIES AND WARMER TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT THE DAY.  THE HIGH TOMORROW WILL BE 69 DEGREES.  RAIN CHANCES AND THE POSSIBILITY OF T-STORMS WILL BE IN PLACE.  THE GOOD NEWS IF THIS THREAT SHOULD PASS BEFORE THE NEW YEAR’S HOLIDAY.  HAVE A GREAT NIGHT.

 Updated by:  Michael White

A Calm and Cold Night….

Sky conditions will remain clear throughout the night tonight with calm winds and an overnight low of 31 degrees.  Tomorrow, more sunshine will be expected and temperatures will start to warm up a little bit as well.  The high for tomorrow afternoon will be 62 degrees.  Tomorrow night, skies will be partly cloudy with light winds.  The overnight low tonight will be 45 degrees.  For the week ahead, a system will begin moving in on Friday and this will bring us a chance for showers.  By Saturday, a threat for t-storms will be in place as well.  The good news is that all of this should be gone by New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.  Have a great night!

 Updated by:  Michael White

A Clear and Cold Night…

Tonight, skies will be clear and temps will be quite cold with temperatures dropping into the mid 20s in some places.  Tomorrow, a nice blue sky will be in place with lots of sunshine.  The for tomorrow afternoon will be at 54 degrees.  Tomorrow night, temps will be staying above freezing with overnight lows at 45 degrees.  Showers move in on Friday and Saturday.  New Year’s looks to be  clear with highs in the mid 50s and lows in the lower 30s.  Have a great night!

A Cloudy and Wet Night….

Not exactly the perfect Christmas night as far as the weather goes.  Skies will be mostly cloudy with a slight chance for continuing showers until we reach the late overnight hours.  Lows tonight will stay in the upper 30s due to the thick cloud coverage.  Tomorrow, skies will remain overcast during the morning hours and the sunshine will eventually return by the late afternoon.  The high tomorrow will be in the mid 40s.  Skies will be sunny on Thursday, but showers will again plague the area on Friday and Saturday.  Skies should be sunny for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.  Have a great night!

 Updated by:  Michael White

Forecast Update

I hope you’re having a great Christmas Eve.  Unfortunately, the weather looks wet for the rest of tonight and into tomorrow.  Some spots south of Interstates 20/59 could see up to two inches of rain from this storm system.  It’s a real soaker.  We will all see rain developing tonight from south to north.  We think there will be a break in the precipitation tomorrow afternoon, before we get into the back  side of the storm and it’s wrap-around moisture… which will mix with much colder air.  That being said, we also expect some of us the chance to see some snow mix with the rain Monday night.  We are not expecting any accumulation, but it will be nice to see!  The best chance for this happening is north and west of Interstate 20/59.  If you do happen to encounter some of that snow, do be careful.  While it won’t stick much, it will help make the roads a little slick in spots.

The winds will be howling at times starting tonight through Christmas day into Tuesday… so hang on to your hats! 

Here is the National Weather Service in Birmingham’s Hazardous Weather outlook:

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM.

.DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT.

PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN MAY CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING AFTER 9 PM CST… MAINLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20 AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 65…WITH THE APPROACH OF A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM.  WIDESPREAD ONE TO TWO INCHES OF RAINFALL CAN BE EXPECTED TONIGHT.

IN ADDITION…WINDS WILL INCREASE TONIGHT.  EAST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH ARE POSSIBLE.  A LAKE WIND ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…CHRISTMAS DAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND POSSIBLE FLOODING WILL CONTINUE UNTIL NOON CST CHRISTMAS DAY…ESPECIALLY EAST OF INTERSTATE 65 AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20.  THIS WILL RESULT IN PONDING OF WATER ON ROADS AND IN LOW LYING AREAS…AND DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS.

AFTER A LULL IN THE PRECIPITATION MONDAY AFTERNOON…ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING COLD AIR INTO THE REGION AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SNOW AFTER DARK MONDAY…MAINLY NORTH OF A VERNON…JASPER… GADSDEN…CENTRE LINE. THE GROUND IS CURRENTLY VERY WARM…AND NO ACCUMULATION IS ANTICIPATED. HOWEVER…IF THE PRECIPITATION BECOMES HEAVIER THAN EXPECTED…SOME BRIEF ACCUMULATIONS MAY OCCUR ON GRASSY AREAS.

GUSTY WINDS UP TO 30 MPH ARE POSSIBLE CHRISTMAS DAY THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON.  A LAKE WIND ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED.

A reminder!  There is no newscast tonight at 10, or tomorrow at 12, 5 or 6 p.m.,  so most of us from the TV station can be with our families and friends for the holiday.  We will be on at 10 o’clock Christmas night with news, weather and sports.

Merry Christmas!

Robert Stevenson

WVUA Weather

Special Weather Statement

The weather service just issued a special weather statement reffering to the wintry weather mentioned in our discussion…

…RAIN AND SNOW MIX EXPECTED TO IMPACT HOLIDAY TRAVEL…WEATHER CONDITIONS IN AND AROUND CENTRAL ALABAMA WILL RESULT IN
POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS FROM CHRISTMAS EVE…
THROUGH CHRISTMAS…AND INTO TUESDAY MORNING. TRAVELERS SHOULD BE
PREPARED FOR A RANGE OF WET…AND POSSIBLY WINTRY CONDITIONS ACROSS
THE SOUTHEAST.

A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP IN THE GULF OF MEXICO AND MOVE
NORTHEAST DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY. AS THE LOW APPROACHES CHRISTMAS
EVE…STEADY RAIN IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP…AND WILL CAUSE ROADWAYS
TO BECOME WET ACROSS THE AREA. CHRISTMAS DAY…WIDESPREAD RAINFALL
IS EXPECTED. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OF OVER ONE INCH OF RAIN
POSSIBLE CHRISTMAS DAY…WHICH WILL CAUSE STANDING WATER ON ROADS. BY
THE EVENING HOURS ON CHRISTMAS NIGHT…THIS RAIN COULD CHANGE OVER TO
WET SNOW…ESPECIALLY FOR LOCATIONS WELL TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF
BIRMINGHAM. ALTHOUGH SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED AT THIS
TIME IN CENTRAL ALABAMA…ANY SNOWFALL WILL CREATE VERY DANGEROUS
DRIVING CONDITIONS. IN ADDITION TO A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW CHRISTMAS
NIGHT…WINDS WILL BE STEADY AT 15 TO 25 MILES PER HOUR…CREATING
WIND CHILLS IN THE MIDDLE 20S.

UNDER THESE CONDITIONS…AND WITH THE EXPECTED VOLUME OF TRAFFIC FROM
THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY…EXPECT LONGER TRAVEL TIMES. IF YOU MUST
TRAVEL…BE PREPARED FOR ANY UNEXPECTED OCCURRENCES. BLANKETS…HATS
AND GLOVES…A HEAVY JACKET…FLASHLIGHT AND A FIRST AID KIT ARE
GOOD ITEMS TO CARRY WITH YOU. ALSO ENSURE CELL PHONES ARE FULLY
CHARGED…AND LET FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS KNOW YOUR TRAVEL PLANS.

TRAVELERS SHOULD STAY TUNED TO LOCAL MEDIA OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SYSTEM.

Saturday Afternoon Forecast Discussion Update

Considering this active weather pattern we’ve been in, today actually turned out to be very nice. Other than some clouds, we had a good dose of sunshine and temperatures made a pleasant recovery. As I glance over at the latest infrared satellite imagery I’m noticing our next rain maker getting its act together. Energy diving into Texas will help send a strengthening surface low onto the Gulf Coast, passing southeast of us over the next 72 hours. Clouds will slowly filter in overnight, with lows in the 50s. Tomorrow we will have an increasing breeze out of the northeast and clouds will also thicken.

A cold/steady rain is expected to set in tomorrow night making for a soggy end to our Christmas Eve. This will continue into Christmas morning and the steady rain will gradually taper off. As I’ve been advertising all week long, I still think we’re going to see some snow flakes flying across many West Alabama neighborhoods Monday night!

A deepening upper level trough will allow cold air to dive in quickly by Monday night and even though surface temperatures will be just above freezing in many neighborhoods. A deep layer of cold air in the atmosphere will allow for some snow flakes to reach the ground. We will have a few scattered showers through the early evening hours on Christmas and it’s going to be a very cold and windy afternoon. Christmas night we will see some snow flurries or even a brief snow shower depending on how much moisture is present. Will we see any accumulation? As I mentioned before, I don’t see this being anything major, but it sure isn’t out of the question that higher elevations to our northeast may have a brief collection on exposed surfaces such as cars. That’s where the surface temperatures will be at or below freezing. Even though this will not be anything major, it sure has been amazing to see this setup in place for the past several days. Just to have the opportunity for snow flurries on Christmas is very rare for us. During the early morning hours Tuesday we may have some lingering flurries, but this activity will lift out with clouds lingering. Lows Tuesday night will be below freezing.

Wednesday will be a partly sunny day and on Thursday we will have some clouds entering the picture. The data is having a tough time with a storm expected to develop to our south late next week. It’s a little too early to be specific; however, based on recent data, I do think we will have a good chance of a passing shower beginning late Thursday and continuing through early Saturday.

Join us tonight at 10:00 for more details!!

Updated by: Chief Meteorologist Wes Wyatt

Friday Afternoon Forecast Discussion Update

The visible satellite imagery today clearly reveals the snow that’s made for travel headaches in Denver, CO. The snow totals across parts of that region topped the one-foot mark. The impressive storm responsible for that weather is now spinning northeast. Back here at home the story was a soaking rain. Here are some reported morning totals:

Selma: 2.45
Clanton: 2.25
Centreville: 1.86
Talladega: 1.27
Oak Grove: 0.97
Cordova: 0.96
Jasper: 0.92
Tuscaloosa: 0.89
Livingston: 0.78
Hamilton: 0.35
Helena: 0.28

The rain is now gone and the clouds will be slow to break over the next 6-12 hours. Tonight we will have partly to mostly cloudy skies, with lows near 40-degrees. The clouds will break tomorrow allowing for a partly sunny afternoon. This will be good news for the holiday shopping rush. Highs tomorrow will be in the lower 60s and tomorrow night we will cool into the upper 30s.

There will be a lot of clouds around tomorrow night and the clouds will steadily increase throughout the morning of Christmas Eve. This will be in response to developing low pressure over the Gulf of Mexico. Low pressure will eventually pass to our southeast Sunday night and this will spread a cold-light rain into the area. This will continue into Christmas morning, followed by a cold and breezy afternoon. The deeper moisture will depart by midday on Christmas, but trailing upper level energy could spark a shower through Christmas night. A snow shower or snow flurries will be possible Christmas night and early Tuesday as lows reach the freezing point. With that being said, nothing major is expected as far as winter weather in concerned. If anything changes we will be the first to let you know.

Tuesday will be another cold, breezy, and cloudy day, with highs staying in the 40s. We will finally see some sunshine in here by Wednesday afternoon, but this pleasant weather will be brief. Another low-pressure system taking a southern track will spread rain into the area as early as Thursday night. Look for the rain to continue into Friday.

Be sure to tell the little ones to tune in starting at 7:00 on Christmas Eve. At the top of each hour we will be updating you on Santa’s progress as he tracks towards West Alabama. Tune in tonight for more weather details!

Updated by: Chief Meteorlogist Wes Wyatt