Snow in Alabama?!
Posted by Ryan
Of course, this shouldn't be a surprise since I mentioned this for the Anniston forecast a couple of days ago. Yes, they did see snow in Anniston, only a trace on Thursday, but a little bit more on Wednesday, before the forecast period. It stayed fairly cool on Thursday, not even reaching 40 in northern Alabama, and the temperature on Friday bottomed out at a chilly 17, cold for Alabama, and colder than anyone had in the forecast. The Weather Service, however, had the top forecast for the surprisingly wintry Anniston.
Actuals: Thursday - Trace of snow, High 37, Low 21
Friday - High 47, Low 17
Grade: C
Anniston, Alabama
Posted by Ryan
Anthony mentioned that he never gets any weather in his forecasts. Well, I do. Snow in Alabama!
At 1053AM, CT, Anniston was reporting a temperatures of 42 degrees with clear skies. An area of low pressure developing over the western Gulf of Mexico was tapping into some Arctic air driven south by a very cold dome of high pressure and was creating a broad area of snow over Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Anniston is currently in a winter storm warning in anticipation of this boundaries arrival, though there are no reports of precipitation in the state yet.
The low itself was not vertically stacked with it's upper level support, which suggests continued strengthening as the system shifts northeast, however the strengthening is likely to be an eventual redevelopment over the Gulf Stream. In the short term, there is no reason to suggest that the system will deteriorate as it marches eastward. There may be some rain at the outset, but by sunrise tomorrow, rain will have changed to snow, and a couple of inches are possible in Anniston. Things will clear quickly, and the afternoon will be pleasant, if chilly tomorrow. Expect a sun fueled warm up for Friday.
Tomorrow - Early morning rain changes to snow by sunrise. Clearing by late morning, High 42, Low 29
Friday - Sunny, High 50, Low 22
TWC: Tomorrow - Partly cloudy skies (snow overnight) High 46, Low 27
Friday - Sunny High 48, Low 24
AW: Tomorrow - Colder with clouds giving way to some sun (morning snow) High 44, Low 26
Friday - Mostly sunny High 46, Low 21
NWS: Tomorrow - Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny (early AM snow) High 39, Low 27
Friday - Sunny High 45, Low 22
WB: Tomorrow - Partly cloudy (early AM snow) High 41, Low 27
Friday - Sunny High 48, Low 23
A look at the visible satellite shows the wall of precipitation just now edging into Mississippi. I have it moving a bit slower than my counter parts, which would mean precip later into the day, but the fact remains the same... it's going to snow in Anniston.
Hopefully, the air conditioning worked
Posted by Ryan
Here in Minnesota, where Victoria-Weather has our headquarters, we get a stretch of 90s, and it's a big time drain on the energy bill, what with the air conditioning running all the time. I can't imagine what it's like down in Alabama, where it's hot and humid for several months out of the year. Anniston was mostly sunny through the past two days save for a brief thunderstorm both Thursday and Friday. Temperatures were allowed to sneak up into the 90s, like they always do, and the lows never dipped below 75. Victoria-Weather had the top forecast for the steamy city.
Actuals: Thursday - .03 inches of rain in thunderstorms, High 94, ow 77
Friday - Thunderstorms reported, precip not measured, High 91, Low 75
Grade: A
Ames, Iowa to Anniston, Alabama
Posted by Ryan
It's an alliterative road trip to take us to the end of the week from soggy Ames to humid Anniston. We'll take almost 2 full days to cover the 922 miles that we we want to cover. The route will allow us to cover 63mph, and about 506 miles on the first day. It's going to be damp at beginning and end. How about the middle?
DAY ONE
The only issue we should have on our first day will be leaving Ames. With the recent flooding the town has seen there is a possibility that some roads could still be underwater, making travel a bit sticky as we try to get out of town. The route will take us along a lot of Iowa state highways, which will introduce us to quite a few fun small towns before we are ultimately surprised to come across Saint Louis. The day will end without incident in Goreville, Illinois in the far southern part of the state.
DAY TWO
For the most part, the second day of driving, Friday won't be too bad either. Sure, when we cross into Alabama, we could start seeing some thunderstorms, but that will only be the last hour or two of the entire drive, so we shouldn't complain. Expect some thunderstorms in and around Anniston upon arrival.
Anniston, Alabama
Posted by Ryan
Anniston finds itself conveniently located between Birmingham and Atlanta, and as far I know, has nothing to do with Jennifer.
At 853PM, CT, Anniston was reporting a temperature of 82 degrees with mostly clear skies. The area was quiet for now, but a fairly well defined cold front through Kentucky was generating widespread showers and thunderstorms just north of Anniston, and would likely be a focal point for thunderstorms along and south of the boundary through the day tomorrow.
The next two days will see the boundary to the north stall. This will have negligible impact on Anniston, as thunderstorm activity will continue as it has all summer, generally cropping up in the afternoon and diminishing after nightfall. The convection will be somewhat more widespread to the north, however, though it won't influence the overall forecast in Anniston.
Tomorrow - Thunderstorms, High 91, Low 76
Friday - Thunderstorms continue, High 91, Low 75
TWC: Tomorrow - Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon. Humid. High 91. Low 75
Friday - Scattered thunderstorms. High 95, Low 74
AW: Tomorrow - Mostly cloudy with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm High 89, Low 75
Friday - Variable clouds with showers and thunderstorms High 93, Low 75
NWS: Tomorrow - Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy High 91, Low 75
Friday - Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy High 90, Low 73
WB: Tomorrow - Thunderstorms likely, High 91, Low 75
Friday - Thunderstorms likely, High 90, Low 74
Pretty even forecasts across the board. I love it when there is just one degree difference between the weather Service and Weatherbug. The satellite looks a lot busier than it probably is.
