WBRC Weather

Thinking about heading south like our Big Bird friend here? It'll be hard to avoid the rain, still it would be hard to beat a sunset like the ones you'll see on the Beautiful Beaches of The Alabama Gulf Coast.

Makes you look forward to spring, right?

As for those of us stuck here at home, rain develops as we go through the early morning hours of New Year's Day with rain continuing into the early morning hours Wednesday.

Mid-week gives us a brief "drying-out" period before we see a chance for an overnight rain/sleet mixture Wednesday night and into early Thursday. Temperatures will be above freezing so travel should not be an issue.

Much colder air follows with lows back in the 20's and highs ranging from 46-50 heading into next weekend.

Happy New Year.

Fred Hunter
FOX6 Meteorologist
fhunter@wbrc.com

New Year's Day Rain

As we head into the last day of 2012, we have clouds building in from the our north-northwest.  Look for highs to top out in the mid 50s this afternoon.

Showers shoulld begin developing tonight with lows near 47.

New Year's Day 2013 will likely be a wet one.  No severe weather is expected tomorrow...just good old fashioned rainfall.

Showers could linger Wednesday night into Thursday morning for some of our southern counties.

Friday through the weekend looks to be dry with partly cloudy skies.

Happy New Year!

Mickey Ferguson, FOX6 Weather

OK! OK! Enough with the cold weather. The New Year isn't even here yet and already I'm looking forward to a beach trip,even if I do have to wear a rain jacket and put up with a few clouds and the occasional hurricane. Small price to pay for Another Day In Paradise, if I get to warm up...even a little.

Unfortunately, I've got rain on my radar for New Year's Eve/Day and a first week of the New Year with temperatures at or even below normal. I could use a Good Groundhog about now.

Fred Hunter
FOX6 Meteorologist
fhunter@wbrc.com

Sunday Forecast Discussion: A Rainy Start To The New Year

(Futurecast Valid For 1 AM Tuesday)

It’s nice to finally see the sun return for this final Sunday of 2012. Even with a sunny sky overhead, temperatures will be on a slow rise this morning. Most areas dropped into the 20s last night and we expect temperatures to be in the 30s by mid morning and 40s during the afternoon. The north wind will be much lighter, with calm winds overnight.

High clouds associated with our next storm system will begin overrunning the state tonight and tomorrow. I expect the final day of the year to be dry, with highs in the 50s. We’re expecting a cold front to drop into the state and become quasi-stationary through midweek. Basically, this next system will be a very slow mover and I expect gray skies and damp conditions to linger through a good portion of the week. Disturbances riding along the approaching front will help enhance a few rounds of occasional rainfall.  The first wave of rain will have the greatest impact on the entire area on New Year’s Day.

As for timing, rain looks to impact northwest areas by 11PM tomorrow night and this activity will be overspreading the rest of our area throughout Tuesday morning. The rest of the New Year’s Holiday looks cool, wet, and cloudy. Occasional showers will continue through the afternoon and evening, with rain becoming more scattered by the afternoon over northern areas. Another disturbance will ride along the front on Wednesday helping to trigger scattered showers to the far north and occasional showers along/south of the I-20 corridor. We expect one more round of rain on Thursday, followed by slow clearing Thursday night and on Friday.

(Futurecast Valid For 11 AM Tuesday)

Have a wonderful Sunday!   

Fox 6 Meteorologist Wes Wyatt
wwyatt@wbrc.com
Twitter @weswyattweather
Facebook.com/weswyattfox6

As we put the wraps on 2012 we look back through the mists of a Year-Gone-By with lots of smiles and a few tears and get set for what is always a busy Weather Year in Alabama. You can expect cold air to end the year with a good chance for rain New Year's Eve/Day. Drive carefully. We've got a lot to accomplish in 2013 and we need you around to help us out. Fred Hunter FOX6 Meteorologist fhunter@wbrc.com

via birmingham.raycomweather.com

Saturday Forecast Discussion: Cold, Cloudy, & Windy....20-Degree Temps Overnight

(7 AM Wind Chill)

Rain amounts in most areas topped the half inch mark overnight. Here are some select totals from the automated stations: 0.56” in Birmingham, 0.60” in Tuscaloosa, 0.58” in Anniston, 0.51” in Gadsden, 0.69” in Calera, and 0.92” in Cullman. 

The rain has pushed well east of Alabama and now temperatures are on the fall. There is a good chance that parts of our area may not reach 40-degrees today. A cold northwest wind has developed and this is producing 20-degree wind chills. Be on the lookout for some flurries today. An overcast sky will linger through the morning hours and a few snow flurries may fall or a brief snow shower may occur through lunchtime. Some clearing should begin late in the day, especially to the far west and southwest. This may allow temperatures to rise into the low 40s in some areas. The sky is expected to clear overnight, with temperatures falling into the middle 20s. It’s going to remain breezy during the evening hours, with wind chills values in the upper teens to low 20s.

We will catch another break in the wet weather tomorrow and for the start of Monday. Tomorrow should be a much brighter day but temperatures will remain on the cold side, with highs only in the 40s. Temperatures should reach the mid 50s on Monday, with more clouds overhead.

Another rainmaker will be closing in on Alabama on New Year’s Eve. Showers are expected to arrive overnight as a front approaches from the west. This front will become quasi-stationary as a couple of strong disturbances in the southern branch of the jet stream impact the region.  One disturbance will ride along the front on New Year’s Day providing occasional rain. This first wave of rain is expected to shift east Tuesday night, with another wave of rain lifting into the state on Wednesday. This second wave of rain will mainly be a factor for our southern areas, south of I-20, on Wednesday. The good news is that this system will produce rain with no threat of strong thunderstorms.

We will have more details on the long range forecast on Fox 6 News Saturday morning (7 AM-9AM).

Have a great Saturday!

Fox 6 Meteorologist Wes Wyatt
wwyatt@wbrc.com
Twitter @weswyattweather
Facebook.com/weswyattfox6

Update on Rain Chances

We're seeing some rain move into our western counties right now.  Rain is showing up on our Pickens County weather camera.

But - so far the eastern part of the state is dry this afternoon.

 

Expect the rain to spread across the entire area tonight.  I'm anticipating some flurries north of Hwy 278 during the overnight as the precipitation and colder air begin to overlap.  Temperatures tonight will fall into the upper 3os so if you have any plans tonight just remember it's going to be cold and wet.  The NAM is showing rain covering most of the state at midnight.

I think the system will be a fairly fast mover and clear out of the state early tomorrow.  We will likely see some lingering clouds through 10am, but the skies should clear rapidly during the afternoon with a brisk northwest wind at about 15-20mph.   The NAM model shows the rain sliding well to the south Saturday night.

 I think we'll see some of the coldest temperatures so far Saturday night into Sunday.  Expect overnight lows in the mid 20s.  Sunday will be sunny with highs only the mid 40s.

If you have New Year's Eve plans, you can count on seeing some rain toward midnight.  We will continue to see rain through New Year's Day.  The gray and wet weather pattern continues.

J-P Dice
Fox 6 Chief Meteorologist
jdice@wbrc.com
Twitter: jpdice_Fox6 

 

 

If You Like Variety, I've Got Your Forecast!

We begin our last Friday morning of 2012 with cold, gray skies.  Rain is approaching out of the west this AM.  However our dewpoints are still low, in the upper 20s to low 30s in our area, so it may take a little while for our atmosphere to get saturated to the point for us to see rainfall.  Look for showers to develop late this morning, into this afternoon and throughout the night.

In the early morning hours of Saturday the rain should end.  Clouds are expected to slowly decrease during the day.  We may see partly cloudy skies just before the sun sets tomorrow.

Sunday should be a sun-day.  How's the variety so far? 
Here's more...

New Year's Eve Monday brings increasing clouds.

New Year's Day look for rain showers to return to Alabama and last through the early morning hours of Wednesday.

Thursday morning the showers should end with partly cloudy skies by Friday.

Hope you have a great last weekend of 2012!

Mickey Ferguson, FOX6 Weather

 

Clouds Are Lingering - Rain Tomorrow

I'm happy to report we can take a break from any chance for severe weather for a bit.  It has been a bit gloomy with highs only in the 40s today and lingering clouds.  Personally, I'd like to see a little sunshine.

Our SkyVision Camera in Pell City is showing overcast skies at about 3,000ft.  While we're seeing a good bit of sunshine toward the Alabama Gulf Coast.

During the mid-afternoon, we should see some limited sunshine mainly west of I-65.  Another big system is going to plow through the region tomorrow and this will mean a good chance of rain during the evening.  The good news is the atmosphere is stable enough that we'll only have showers and probably an isolated thunderstorm at best.

The cold front will move through the Southeast Saturday.  I fully expect most of our rain to occur after sunset Friday and ending by early Saturday morning.  Rain will continue to slide southward into Georgia and Florida.  Behind the front - we can once again expect some very cold temperatures with lows in the mid 20s.

Strong high pressure will build behind the front bringing clearing skies Saturday night into Sunday.  New Year's Eve and New Year's Day will likely be a little cloudy with only a few showers expected.

The overall weather pattern over the next 6-10 will generally be cool and wet.

The Climate Prediction Center is indicating colder than average temperatures with above average rainfall.  So - don't expect much sunshine.  Looks like a rather gloomy weather pattern.

J-P Dice
Fox 6 Chief Meteorologist
jdice@wbrc.com
Twitter: jpdice_Fox6 

 

 

 

Cloudy, Cold...Hey, It's Winter!

Overcast skies look like they will be slow to clear today.  The take away from that is we have another chilly day headed our way.  Eventually we could see a few breaks in the clouds this afternoon...but only briefly.  Clouds are expected to build back in overnight. 

Friday afternoon  brings with it a chance of rainfall returning to our area.  No severe storms are expected with this system. 
Showers could  linger through Saturday morning, with clouds slowly decreasing Saturday afternoon.

Sunday looks to be a brief day of sunshine.  Sunday morning will start out rather cold though, with morning temps in the 20s.

New Year's Eve Monday binrgs increasing cloud cover again.

New Years Day Tuesday will ilkely start out cloudy with a chance of rain by evening.

Rain will likely continue through Wednesday monring.

Mickey Ferguson, FOX6 Weaqther