Rain Ahead...Hurricane in the Gulf

Our first hurricane is in the Gulf of Mexico this morning as Hurricane Ida intensified last night. Interestingly enough, this is the first hurricane in the gulf this year and its within 3 weeks of the end of hurricane season. The storm is forecast to weaken as it moves toward the Florida and Alabama gulf coast due to cooler water temperatures. By 6pm Monday night, the storm should be 150 miles off the coast of Mobile. Ida will affect our weather here in Alabama...

A fine day across Alabama today with highs in the mid-70's. Rain returns tomorrow night as a result of Hurricane Ida in the Gulf of Mexico. It rains most of the day Tuesday with storm totals up to 2.5 inches possible. Also, it will be windy all day Tuesday as we experience some of Ida's affects.

Weather clears out Wednesday and we stay dry through next Sunday with seasonal temperatures.

Freeze Watch

Today will probably go down in the records books as the lowest high temperature for any October 17. The high here today reached 50F. Cloudy skies, drizzle, and a brisk north wind headlined a rather nasty day.
Tonight, as I write this, the thermometer sits at 42F with a dewpoint of 33F. The low tonight will meet somewhere in the middle probably around 35F. Winds will likely stick around preventing widespread frost.
Monday morning promises to be colder with a calm wind. Temperatures will likely be at or below freezing. As such, the NWS has issued a freeze watch:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A FREEZE WATCH…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL INTO THE LOWER 30S SUNDAY NIGHT GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM CARROLLTON TO ALABASTER TO ROANOKE. NEAR FREEZING OR SUB FREEZING TEMPERATURES CAN BE EXPECTED AFTER 3AM AND LAST BETWEEN ONE AND FOUR HOURS.

Wet Then Turning Colder by the Weekend

What a wet down since midnight. So far this morning 2.64" of rain at my station. More rain is on the way today and tonight. Some flooding has been reported and more will be possible. Temperatures today will hang out in the mid-60's.
Tomorrow clouds hang tough with a high around 72.

More wet and stormy weather Wednesday and Thursday. Flash flood watches most likely will be needed again as the rain could be heavy at times. On Thursday, there will also be a risk of strong to severe thunderstorms.

The precipitation outlook for the next 5 days suggest a total of 7 inches of rain for much of North Alabama this week. Wow!

Unless all the major computer models are wrong (the GFS, NOGAPS, European, and Canadian), a strong cold front will blast through Alabama late this week, bringing the coldest air of the season by far. We could see highs on Friday and Saturday struggle to reach 55 degrees, with strong north winds making it feel colder. And, by Sunday morning, temperatures in the 30s are likely in north Alabama, maybe as far south as Birmingham.

Risk of Severe Weather Great

Portions of central and northwest Alabama have been placed under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 7:00pm tonight. Also 2 counties in Alabama (Lamar and Marion) are currently under a tornado warning. Keep an eye out for severe weather possibilities later this evening as the front makes its way across Alabama. The atmosphere seems to have plenty of energy as dewpoints are in the upper 60's and low 70's.

Strong Cold Front on the Way, Slight Risk of Severe Weather tonigh

The Storm Prediction Center have put portions of central Alabama under a slight risk for severe weather today and tonight.

Forecast Update

2.01" of rain at my location over the last 24 hours. Pretty amazing for a day that on last Thursday looked dry. So lets update what this week looks like....

Current weather forecast update from ABC33/40's James Spann:

RIGHT NOW: Clouds, but no rain over the northern half of Alabama. The big mass of rain that soaked the state last night is well to the east, and the warm front is still to the south. Birmingham at 2:00 is reporting 64, while south of the warm front Mobile is at 83 with some sunshine breaking through the clouds. The weather should remain generally dry here through tonight, but the clouds will linger.
TOMORROW: The warm front should move north of here, meaning a warmer day with a high well into the 70s, perhaps reaching 80 degrees in a few spots. A few scattered showers or storms could form tomorrow afternoon as the air becomes unstable, but widespread rain is not expected. There should be a few intervals of sun during the day. Rain will arrive late tomorrow night, however, as a front approaches.
WEDNESDAY: Looks like we will begin the day with showers, and possibly a thunderstorm as the surface front moves through. However, it looks like the rain will be over by mid to late morning, with some potential for a little sunshine Wednesday afternoon. The high Wednesday should be in the 72 to 75 degree range.
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY: Summer-like warmth is the story on these days, with highs up into the low to mid 80s. Thursday looks dry, but showers and storms could begin to form by Friday afternoon and Friday night as an upper trough/surface cold front combo nears Alabama.
THE WEEKEND: Showers and storms are likely Saturday, and the surface front should stall out somewhere near I-59. This should keep the weather wet at times into Saturday night and Sunday, so we will have to dodge raindrops at times over the weekend. Highs both days should be in the low to mid 70s.

One More Great Fall Day Ahead

Today was our 3rd consecutive morning with a low around 50. Many areas reached the upper 40's on each of the last 2 mornings. My official lows were 50, 49, and 50 respectively.
We can promise one more nice day today with a sunny sky and a high in the upper 70s. Clouds and rain return tomorrow for a few hours as a cold front sweeps across Alabama. Figure the best chance of getting wet tomorrow is between 12pm and 6pm. After that, skies clear and we look ahead to a beautiful fall weekend. Highs will be in the upper 70's with lows in the 50's.

Football Weekend Forecast:

Week 5 gets under way for college and high schools across the south.

Southern Miss @ UAB Thursday night 6:30pm - Partly cloudy but dry. Gametime temperature at 70F.

High school games Friday night 7pm - Seats maybe still wet, but rain should be over with. Cloudy skies with clearing late. Temperature at kickoff 66F.

Auburn @ Tennessee 6:45pm - Clear skies, kickoff temperature at 65F and falling during game to around 55F.

Alababama @ Kentucky 11:20am - Partly cloudy and breezy. Kickoff temperature at 58F. High only of 61 in Lexington on Saturday so take a jacket.

UT Martin @ JSU 1:00pm - Sunny skies, kickoff temperature at 73F.