Monday Morning, December 5, 2016
Forecaster: Scott Martin

A Day Filled With Much Needed Rainfall, With Minimal Severe Weather Threat
A low pressure center will move into Texas during the morning, and as that happens, showers ahead of it will spread quickly across central Alabama, mainly along and south of I-20. Rain will cover all of Central Alabama by the late afternoon and evening hours. It looks like that some strong ridging along the Atlantic Coast keeps a low-level easterly flow throughout the day, and if any thunderstorms develop they will be elevated due to cooler air at ground level. Latest model guidance shows that the instability values will be lower for the southern parts of the area, as the low moves across northern Mississippi during the evening. The higher instability values will be staying down into the Gulf Coast area, and any severe weather threat for Central Alabama will be small, even though strong storms will still be possible mainly along and south of I-85 and US-80.

Temperatures throughout the area will rise throughout the daytime and the evening hours, with the highs being reached at midnight. At noon, temperatures will be in the mid 50s to the low 60s range across the area from north to south, and warming into the mid 50s to mid 60s by midnight. The GFS has actually backed off a little on rain fall for the day up till midnight, with most of the area receiving 1/2 inch or less, but some in the western parts of the area receiving over 1/2 inch. Much more rain will fall after midnight.

American Village Colonial Christmas Luncheons and Tours
Tuesday, December 6 - Friday, December 9
10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. or 12:00-2:30 p.m.

This annual event includes a delicious luncheon in Liberty Hall, patterned after The East Room of The White House. Your hostess will be Martha Washington, who will entertain guests with stories of how she met and married George Washington. Your tour includes a visit with the President’s granddaughter, Eleanor Parke Custis, who shares her memories of festive Christmas traditions at Washington’s Mount Vernon. And visitors will enjoy Christmas carols in the Colonial Chapel, inspired by Bruton Parish Church of Williamsburg.

Tickets are $25 each, and pre-reservations are required.

Please call (205) 665-3535 extension 1031 or email Christmas@americanvillage.org to make a reservation.

Birmingham’s Climatology And Records
The normal high for December 5th is 59, while the normal low is 37. The record high for today was set back in 1988 at 79. The record low was set back in 1907 at 21.

Rain Coming To An End On Tuesday
The rain will come to an end from west to east across Central Alabama, and skies will become partly to mostly cloudy by the afternoon and evening hours. Rain should be ending in the western counties by noon, and be completely out of the area by 6PM. Afternoon highs will be in the upper 50s to upper 60s range across the area from north to south. Overnight lows are expected to fall into the 40s area wide.

When the rainfall ends, totals from across the area for the entire system from late Sunday night to Tuesday will be close to 1 inch in the Birmingham area, with much of the rest of Central Alabama getting between 1/2 and 1 inch. The big winners in the rainfall totals look to be the northwest corner of the state, where up to 2.5 inches could be possible.

Wednesday And Thursday
A mix of sun and clouds can be expected for Wednesday, as an approaching cold front could bring another slight chance for a shower or two for Wednesday evening into the late afternoon hours on Thursday. The GFS has really backed off of the rain for this period, so odds for any rainfall will be very small at this point. Highs on Wednesday will be in the mid 50s to the low 60s across the area from north to south, with overnight lows in the 30s and 40s. Thursday’s highs will be in the mid 40s to the mid 50s across the area from north to south, with skies starting off partly to mostly cloudy in the morning and becoming mostly clear by the early evening. Overnight lows will be in the 20s, with the colder spots in the teens.

Friday And The Weekend
Temperatures will be much colder and skies will be sunny from Friday through Sunday evening, before clouds start to move in ahead of our next chance of rain. Highs will be in the 30s and 40s on Friday, into the 40s for Saturday, and the 50s and a few 60s for Sunday. Overnight lows will mostly be in the 20s throughout the weekend, with the exception of a few 30s for early on Sunday morning.

On This Day In 1886
A big snowstorm in the southeastern U.S. produced 11 inches at Montgomery AL, 18.5 inches at Rome GA, and 22.5 inches at Knoxville TN.

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