Sunday Afternoon Weather Update – 2:15 PM

A good Sunday to you! After lastnight’s snow flurries, our weather has dried out today. Clouds quickly moved out after daybreak, which set us up for a nice afternoon. It is still chilly, but with lots of sun, it feels just a bit better for us. Temperatures will top out in the middle to upper 40s this afternoon. It is going to get cold tonight, as low approach 25 degrees. There will be widespread frost to start off Monday morning.

Warmer weather moves in for a few days, as highs on Monday and Tuesday reach the upper 50s. We could even hit 60 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday. An area of low pressure moves through the central Gulf of Mexico Monday night, which is going to spread clouds into central Alabama. There could be a little drizzle for areas south of Tuscaloosa Monday night, but it won’t amount to much, and temperatures will remain above freezing. Clouds decrease through the day on Tuesday and we return to a mostly sunny sky by the late afternoon hours. Temperatures warm into the upper 50s. Wednesday will be a warmer day, as highs reach the lower 60s. Mostly sunny skies will remain in the forecast for Wednesday, but high level clouds move in late on Wednesday.

A gulf low develops and moves into central Alabama Thursday night. We can expect periods of heavy rain Thursday evening and into Friday morning. Rain will taper off through the day on Friday. Much colder air moves in by the weekend, as highs only top out in the middle 40s. Be sure to join me for out live newscast on WVUA-TV tonight at 10PM.

Have a great day!

Richard Scott

Snow Flurries in Central Alabama – 6:03 PM

We’ve been getting numerous reports of snow flurries and light snow across north and central Alabama this evening, including in Tuscaloosa. With limited moisture to work with, don’t expect any problems. The snow flurries activity will end later tonight as skies clear out. Now that temperatures are below freezing, any wet roads will turn icy tonight over northeast Alabama. If you have any pictures, be sure to send them to wxpics@wvuatv.com. Have a great evening!

WVUA-TV’s Richard Scott

Saturday Afternoon Weather Update – 4:13 PM

A good Saturday to you! Temperatures are going the wrong way this afternoon, as we started off this morning in the 40s; as of writing this discussion, we are at 33 degrees in Tuscaloosa. Clouds will hang tough for the rest of the day, and temperatures will continue to fall. We’ll bottom out near 25 degrees by daylight tomorrow morning. Any wet roads could turn icy this evening and tonight, but that will mainly occur over northeast Alabama, where some drizzle is still falling. Clouds clear out tonight and we’ll have a mostly sunny Sunday. Temperatures slowly warm into the upper 40s by mid afternoon.

Monday will become much warmer, as highs reach the upper 50s. Clouds slowly increase and we’ll see a mostly cloudy sky on Tuesday. A disturbance will move through the northern Gulf of Mexico and spread clouds in here. With limited moisture, I think we stay dry. Temperatures remain in the middle to upper 50s through Thursday.

Another area of low pressure tracks along the northern Gulf of Mexico on Thursday and Friday. This one will have abundant moisture to work with, so rain will become a good bet on Thursday and Friday. With temperatures remaining above freezing, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about wintry weather. Conditions dry out by Saturday. Be sure to join me on WVUA-TV tonight at 10 PM for the latest on your weather.

Have a great day!

Richard Scott

Special Evening Weather Update 10:00 PM

The winter storm warning for the Tennessee Valley has been replaced by a winter weather advisory through 3:00 tomorrow. The roughest wintry weather has setup over Tennessee where icy roads have developed. The threat for wintry weather over our northernmost counties of Marion and Winston hasn’t ended. Patchy shower activity and drizzle will continue through early morning for the entire area. I can’t totally rule out some light freezing rain returning to northern Marion and Winston counties as temperatures continue to fall. The flash flood watch for our entire area has been cancelled as the heavy rain has shifted east. Tuscaloosa picked up 0.78” and only light totals are expected through the rest of the night. The included picture was sent in from a fan of WVUA. This shows some wintry precipitation on the ground over far northern Alabama.

Wes Wyatt
Chief Meteorologist

Forecast Discussion 1/29 4:23 PM

Special Winter Storm Update: A winter storm warning is in place for the entire Huntsville National Weather Service Forecast area through noon tomorrow. A dangerous winter storm will bring a combination of freezing rain, sleet, and snow to north Alabama tonight. The greatest chance for freezing rain and icing will be along and north of the highway 278 corridor. In fact, freezing rain has been falling in Hamilton for over 5 hours. Travel into northern portions of West Alabama is highly discouraged tonight as surface temperatures are hovering near the critical freezing point. Winter weather advisories are in place for Marion and Winston counties until 6:00 p.m. A new advisory may be issued for these counties soon and we will have live updates on our weather crawl.

Forecast Discussion: Most of our area will experience a cold rain through tonight, with lows in the middle to upper 30s. A flash flood watch will be in place overnight as 1 to 2 inches of rain is expected across the area. The wet weather will move out early tomorrow, with lingering clouds. Highs tomorrow will be in the 40s. Look for some clearing tomorrow night, with lows in the 20s.

On Sunday and Monday we will enjoy a nice period of sunshine. Temperatures won’t be quite as cold on Monday but our highs will level off. Another surge of cool/dry air will arrive early Tuesday and we will have some clouds, with highs back in the mid 50s. It is easy to see that we are stuck in a similar weather pattern. Another low pressure system will be tracking through the region late next Thursday and this will bring a good chance of rain Thursday night and on Friday.

I want to thank the Pre-School Faculty and students at the beautiful Chapel Hill Baptist Church for inviting me to visit today. I hit the road early and made the drive through Northport along highway 43. If you are driving north you will see this church to your left. They sent me away with a massive cookie! I also noticed some sleet falling this morning around 10:30 a.m. when making the drive.

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Wes Wyatt
Chief Meteorologist

Thursday Update – 01/28/10 – 3:10 p.m.

Get ready for some changes to the fairly nice weather we’ve enjoyed this week. Friday is going to be wet. A major winter storm will be working through the Southeastern United States, and it will bring wet weather to West Alabama.

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We could see some showers as early as Friday morning, the heavier rainfall will move in by afternoon and stay with us into the late night hours.  There could be a little sleet mixed in tomorrow morning north of Highway 82, but it will not pose any sort of travel issues.  Along and north of Corridor-X/Highway 72, there could be more significant wintry weather mixed in with the rain from time to time.  Accumulations of sleet, or ice, should not be significant.  What will be significant will be the rainfall amounts.  We are expecting one to two inches of rainfall Friday.  There is a Flash Flood Watch posted for our entire area. Details are below this post.  Temperatures will stay cold Friday with highs only in the middle-40s . Friday night, lows will be in the middle-30s.

Early Saturday morning, the rainfall will move out of the area. Clouds will remain along with some periods of drizzle. Temperatures will stay cold, in the middle-40s for highs.

Sunday we will see a return of sunshine. Temperatures will, however, remain cold… only topping out at 49!

Looking ahead to next week, daytime temperatures will moderate and be in the middle to upper-50s. We’ll see a few showers on Tuesday with another significant storm for the end of the week. Between those, we’ll see some sunshine.

I’ll have more on the weather on WVUA News First at 4:00 and on the News at 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00 tonight. Wes returns tomorrow evening.

Robert Stevenson
WVUA Weather

Flash Flood Watch for Friday

Flash Flood Watch for entire area Friday afternoon and evening. We could see periods of heavy rainfall… one to two inch totals for this storm system. Here is the Birmingham National Weather Service statement:

Flash Flood Watch
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
236 PM CST THU JAN 28 2010

…FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL ALABAMA FRIDAY
AFTERNOON AND NIGHT…

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A STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA FRIDAY. WIDESPREAD RAIN WILL SPREAD ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA IN RESPONSE TO THIS SYSTEM. PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL ARE POSSIBLE BEGINNING FRIDAY AFTERNOON MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A GADSDEN…TO CALERA…TO WAYNE LINE…THEN SPREADING EAST-SOUTHEASTWARD INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS TO THE REMAINDER OF CENTRAL ALABAMA. STORM TOTALS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ACROSS THE WATCH AREA…WITH LOCALIZED HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. WITH RECENT HEAVY RAINS TO ACCOUNT FOR IN ADDITION TO EXPECTED RAINFALL…FLASH FLOODING WILL BE A CONCERN.

COUNTIES: MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-SUMTER-GREENE-HALE-PERRY-BIBB-MARENGO-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…HAMILTON…SULLIGENT…VERNON…
FAYETTE…DOUBLE SPRINGS…JASPER…ONEONTA…GADSDEN…
CARROLLTON…TUSCALOOSA…BIRMINGHAM…HOOVER…COLUMBIANA…
PELHAM…ALABASTER…PELL CITY…MOODY…LIVINGSTON…EUTAW…
GREENSBORO…MOUNDVILLE…MARION…CENTREVILLE…DEMOPOLIS…
LINDEN

236 PM CST THU JAN 28 2010

…FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA…NORTHEAST ALABAMA…NORTHWEST ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA… INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS…IN CENTRAL ALABAMA…BIBB… BLOUNT… JEFFERSON… PERRY… SHELBY… ST. CLAIR AND WALKER. IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA…ETOWAH. IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA…MARION AND WINSTON. IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…FAYETTE…GREENE…HALE…
LAMAR…MARENGO…PICKENS…SUMTER AND TUSCALOOSA.

* FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING

* A STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA FRIDAY. WIDESPREAD RAIN WILL SPREAD ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA IN RESPONSE TO THIS SYSTEM. FLASH FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE. EXPECTED RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE WATCH AREA WITH LOCALIZED HIGHER AMOUNTS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.

YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.

Robert Stevenson
WVUA Weather

Forecast Discussion 1/27 4:17 PM

Folks from Tennessee west to Oklahoma are getting set for a major winter storm. Not only will snow be a component with this system but freezing rain will be a major player. I don’t mind a little snow on occasion however I don’t want the freezing rain. A surge of cold air is spreading southward across the country and also a strong low pressure system is spreading moisture northward over the cold air. The system has slowed down quite a bit so the impacts in our area will be noticed at the end of the week. So here is the big question, will we be dealing with any wintry weather? Right now you can expect a cold rain event for most of our area.

A cold front will move in late tomorrow and our winds will become northerly. We will squeeze out one more day, with highs near 60 degrees. Unfortunately, temperatures will start falling tomorrow night and continue to fall all-day Friday. We will have rain arriving on Friday and this activity will continue Friday night. As the wet weather comes to an end early Saturday morning, the rain may briefly mix with sleet. There will be a longer period in which rain could mix with sleet or freezing rain in areas along and north of highway 278. The chance for icy travel will increase in areas further northward so if you are going to be traveling northward early Saturday plan ahead.

Clouds will linger on Saturday and there may be a few snow flurries. Highs will only reach the middle 40s. The clouds may also linger into Saturday night, although I’m expecting sunshine to return on Sunday. Monday will be a dry day, with clouds returning by Monday night. Another front will spread a few showers into the area late on Tuesday. Be sure to join us live on WVUA for more details first at four, and at five, six, and ten!

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Wes Wyatt
Chief Meteorologist

Forecast Discussion 1/26 3:17 PM

Good afternoon! We were able to enjoy another bright sunny day, although the winds were a bit higher than our early forecast thinking. The breeze will diminish tonight, with a light freeze. Tomorrow is going to be a very nice day, with highs near 60 and lots of sunshine. Our northernmost communities may experience another light freeze tomorrow night. We are forecasting lows near 33 degrees, with a mostly clear sky tomorrow night.

Big changes will be taking place on Thursday as a cold front drops into Alabama. We will have increasing clouds, with highs in the 60s. The cold front will push through West Alabama with falling temperatures Thursday night and on Friday. In addition, low pressure will pass to our south on Friday. Look for rain to begin late Thursday night and continue during the day on Friday. This will bring a good soaking to West and Central Alabama.

Colder air will be sinking into the state and this will set the stage for a wintry mix and period of freezing rain over extreme northern Alabama Friday. This wintry mix will transition southward as the cold-dense air sinks towards Central Alabama. This could cause some travel trouble spots along and north of the highway 278 corridor Friday night. As for our immediate area, the moisture will be departing just as temperatures approach freezing. Therefore, we only expect a brief window in which a wintry mix may occur.

This is a tricky forecast and since we are talking about the most severe type of wintry weather freezing rain, we will monitor the setup very closely. A faster advancement of cold air would create quite a few problems Friday night. As for the rest of the weekend, we will enjoy brighter weather by late Saturday and on Sunday. Highs will be in the 40s, with lows below the freezing mark. Be sure to tune in tonight first at four, and at five, six, and ten for more details! (Image: Broad Winter Storm Watch From Arkansas West to the Texas Panhandle.)

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Wes Wyatt
Chief Meteorologist

Forecast Discussion 1/25 3:37 PM

With a bright sky in place over our area it is hard to imagine rain close to home. However, that was the case over north Alabama. Through much of the afternoon the extreme northern counties dealt with mostly cloudy weather, light showers, and temperatures in the middle 40s. The wind was really howling out there last night in the wake of a cold frontal passage. The breeze continued today and should settle down a bit tonight. A wind advisory has been in place, stressing winds this afternoon in excess of 25 mph. This advisory should be allowed to expire after sunset. A light breeze will remain in place tonight however, with lows near freezing.

For tomorrow and Wednesday we will enjoy some bright weather. The sunshine will allow our temperatures to rise to near 60-degrees. At night the sky will be mainly clear and this will set the stage for a light freeze. Our next big storm system will roll in on Thursday. Clouds will increase late, with a chance of showers. There may be a few rumbles of thunder by early Friday as low pressure tracks across central Alabama. Winds will become quite gusty as much cold air wraps in behind this system. The main story appears to be rain, which is starting to add up across West Alabama. The water level at Lake Tuscaloosa jumped three feet over the weekend and local officials are encouraging residents along the lake to secure boats and items near the water.

There may be enough lingering moisture for a brief wintry mix late Friday as the cold air rushes in. As is very often the case here in west and central Alabama, the deeper moisture will be shifting out as the cold air moves in. Nevertheless we will be keeping a close eye on the speed of the invading cold air and if anything looks suspicious we will be the first to let you know. As for the final weekend of January, get ready for more cold days and nights. The good thing is that sunshine will return, helping with the big chill during the daylight hours. Highs will be in the 40s on Saturday, with lows in the 20s Saturday night. Have a great evening!

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Wes Wyatt
Chief Meteorologist