Birmingham was getting ready for a line of thunderstorms as we put our forecast together last Wednesday. After the line went through, temperatures were cooler and it was dry to end February. Things took a turn on Friday, when the next round of wet weather moved into town. This round brought about .8″ of rain, a not insignificant amount, and certainly a bad sign for the weekend. If one believes in omens, this must also mean that the month of March will be out like a lamb in Birmingham, so that’s a good sign, right? Victoria-Weather easily won the forecast. Actuals: Thursday: High 50, Low 37 Friday: .81″ of rain, High 51, Low 45
Should we try to get kind of crazy today? Let’s try to get two forecasts in in one day!
At 1053AM, CT, Birmingham was reporting a temperature of 73 degrees with light rain. The rain was popping up on radar a few miles ahead of more significant weather. Thunderstorms will be moving into Birmingham within the hour, and are presently lined up from north of Warrior to north of Aliceville, and will bring primarily a threat of some gusty winds, rain and thunder. A healthy cold pool will chase the front out of town, leaving a cool afternoon in northern Alabama, followed by a crisp morning tomorrow. The jet structure is bifurcated right now, so despite a strong ridge to the north, Texas will be a ripe environment for cyclogenesis late this week. A much weaker feature than either the storm that is going to sweep through momentarily, or the strong system preparing to slam the west coast will develop in Texas and slide into Alabama on Friday morning, bringing a few showers and storms to Alabama’s largest city. Tomorrow – Mostly sunny and chilly, increasing clouds late, High 52, Low 37 Friday – Scattered showers, cloudy, High 52, Low 47
TWC: Tomorrow – Cloudy skies, slight chance of a rain shower, High 55, Low 36 Friday – Cloudy with periods of rain, high 54, Low 45
AW: Tomorrow – Mostly cloudy and cooler High 53, low 36 Friday – Periods of rain and a thunderstorm High 54, low 46
NWS: Tomorrow – Partly sunny, High 54, low 34 Friday – Showers and possibly a thunderstorm High 53, Low 45
WB: Tomorrow – Partly sunny, High 55, Low 39 Friday – Showers, a slight chance of a thunderstorm in the morning, then a chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon, High 53, low 49
WN: Tomorrow – Mostly Cloudy, High 56, Low 35 Friday – Mostly cloudy with showers and chance of storms, High 53, Low 45
CLI: Tomorrow – Light rain showers, High 59, Low 33 Friday – Rain showers, High 56, Low 45
We see a lot of towns in Alabama, but we don’t often touch on Birmingham. While we are here, we are getting some active weather, though! Radar shows this line of thunderstorms on the door steps.
The historic snow in the northern United States this winter is leading to some significant flooding impacts, starting in Minnesota, but probably working downriver. Our route, less than a day between Alabama and Arkansas, covering 361 miles, cross the mighty Mississippi at Helena, Arkansas, where the River is already pretty wide, and the bridge is tall. Hopefully, that means the only worries we end up having are with the ongoing weather impacts, rather than the impacts of precipitation many months ago. We’ll pass by the Mississippi Valley at a meandering 60mph pace, which at this rate, might take us a full 15 minutes to drive over the bridge.
Birmingham, Alabama
If you find yourself living in any part of the United States’ contiguous states, you are probably experiencing or will soon experience, below normal temperatures. If not, you are probably on the West Coast, and this blog is probably not the first click in your morning surf. But the below normal weather in the east is the result of a stout area of high pressure extending from Canada all the way into the American Southeast. This will keep the drive through Alabama and Mississippi pretty tranquil. An area of low pressure is going to start emerging tonight and tomorrow in the Southern Plains and start to feast on moisture banked in Texas. A weak warm front will start sneaking north in Arkansas which could bring some late puffy cloudy to the Pine Bluff area. They aren’t likely to bring rain before our drive is over, but expect a wet middle to the week in Pine Bluff.
The forecast for Birmingham was a fairly straightforward one, dry and HOT. Which is was, no doubt about that. The morning lows were a couple degrees cooler than most had anticipated however, which lead to some higher than average scores given the comparatively benign pattern. NWS and WeatherNation split top billing.
Friday: High 98, Low 67.
Saturday: High 100, Low 67.
Forecast Grade: B
Today we embark on a 2-day, 677-mile trek through the Appalachians to the Deep South. We could probably get this one in one very long day, but we’re gonna take our time and enjoy some scenery!
DAY ONE
High pressure is found over the OH and TN Valleys, keeping much of the region dry into the Central and Southern Appalachians. A sunny day is expected as we head south out of Morgantown through WV and through western Virginia. Continued pleasant but hot conditions are anticipated for the rest of the day as we end this leg in Knoxville.
DAY TWO
As high pressure continues to control the region, more sunny skies and dry conditions are expected for the rest of the trip. Temperatures are expected to hit the triple digits as we head past Chattanooga into Alabama and eventually into Birmingham, but at least the trip will be dry!
As we look forward to the weekend, let’s head to the Deep South and see how the historic city of Birmingham will fare!
At 953pm CDT, the temperature at Birmingham, AL was 80 degrees under fair skies. It’s been nothing short of ridiculously hot over the Southeast this past week as I mentioned a few days ago, and it doesn’t look like it’s gonna go anywhere soon. A strong ridge of high pressure is continuing to sit over the Deep South and will park itself there for another couple of days yet. It will break down a bit on Sunday and a chance of thunderstorms will re-enter the forecast. But until then, it’ll be dry but scorching hot!
Friday: Sunny and hot. High 95, Low 71.
Saturday: Sunny and even hotter. High 96, Low 69.
TWC: Friday: Sunny. High 96, Low 70.
Saturday: Sunny. High 98, Low 70.
AW: Friday: Mostly sunny. High 96, Low 70.
Saturday: Mostly sunny; hot. High 98, Low 68.
NWS: Friday: Sunny. High 98, Low 70.
Saturday: Hot. High 100, Low 71.
WB: Friday: Sunny. High 95, Low 71.
Saturday: Sunny. High 97, Low 70.
WN: Friday: Sunny. High 98, Low 70.
Saturday: Mostly sunny. High 100, Low 71.
FIO: Friday: Clear throughout the day. High 95, Low 70.
Saturday: Clear throughout the day. High 97, Low 69.
The Deep South is extremely quiet tonight, and looks to remain that way as we head into the weekend. Just don’t look at that cluster of severe thunderstorms in MO/NE. Nothing to see here folks!
