SCATTERED AFTERNOON SHOWERS: With a mix of sun and clouds we project a high in the 65-72 degree range across Alabama today. As a deep upper trough moves through, we expect a few scattered showers over the northern half of the state this afternoon and early tonight; rain amounts will be light and spotty. The sky becomes fair tonight.
THE WEEKEND: For a change, we have no storms to deal with. Expect a sun filled sky both days… the high tomorrow will be in the mid to upper 60s, followed by 70s Sunday. Mornings will be cool with lows in the 38-44 degree range. It is possible some of the colder spots over North Alabama could see some light frost, but nothing widespread.
NEXT WEEK: The weather looks pretty quiet through the week. Temperatures reach the low 80s Monday; highs over the rest of the week will be mostly in the 70s. Surface fronts will bring a few isolated showers Monday night/early Tuesday, and then again Thursday night/early Friday, but rain amounts should be light, and we see no risk of heavy rain or severe storms through the week. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.
ON THIS DATE IN 1965: The “Palm Sunday” tornado outbreak produced 55 confirmed tornadoes in one day and 16 hours. The worst part of the outbreak occurred during the afternoon hours of April 11 into the overnight hours going into April 12. The second-largest tornado outbreak on record at the time, this deadly series of tornadoes inflicted a swath of destruction from Cedar County, Iowa, to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and a swath 450 miles long from Kent County, Michigan, to Montgomery County, Indiana. The main part of the outbreak lasted 16 hours and 35 minutes and is among the most intense outbreaks, in terms of tornado strength, ever recorded, including at least four “double/twin funnel” tornadoes. In all, the outbreak killed 266 people, injured 3,662 others
Dr. Ted Fujita discovered suction vortices during the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak. It had been believed the reason why tornadoes could hit one house and leave another across the street completely unscathed was because the whole tornado would “jump” from one house to another. However, the actual reason is because most of the destruction is caused by suction vortices: smaller, rapidly spinning whirls within a tornado circulation.
ON THIS DATE IN 2007: Severe thunderstorms, some with large hail, moved across Alabama. Five tornadoes touched down, all rated EF-0 or EF-1, including one near Bagley in far Northwest Jefferson County.
Look for the next video briefing here by 3:00 this afternoon… enjoy the day!
Category: Alabama’s Weather, ALL POSTS, Weather Xtreme Videos
