A good Saturday to you! Temperatures are going the wrong way this afternoon, as we started off this morning in the 40s; as of writing this discussion, we are at 33 degrees in Tuscaloosa. Clouds will hang tough for the rest of the day, and temperatures will continue to fall. We’ll bottom out near 25 [...]
The winter storm warning for the Tennessee Valley has been replaced by a winter weather advisory through 3:00 tomorrow. The roughest wintry weather has setup over Tennessee where icy roads have developed. The threat for wintry weather over our northernmost counties of Marion and Winston hasn’t ended. Patchy shower activity and drizzle will continue through early morning [...]
Special Winter Storm Update: A winter storm warning is in place for the entire Huntsville National Weather Service Forecast area through noon tomorrow. A dangerous winter storm will bring a combination of freezing rain, sleet, and snow to north Alabama tonight. The greatest chance for freezing rain and icing will be along and north of [...]Get ready for some changes to the fairly nice weather we’ve enjoyed this week. Friday is going to be wet. A major winter storm will be working through the Southeastern United States, and it will bring wet weather to West Alabama.
We could see some showers as early as Friday morning, the heavier rainfall will move [...]
Flash Flood Watch for entire area Friday afternoon and evening. We could see periods of heavy rainfall… one to two inch totals for this storm system. Here is the Birmingham National Weather Service statement:
Flash Flood Watch
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
236 PM CST THU JAN 28 2010
…FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL ALABAMA FRIDAY
AFTERNOON AND [...]Folks from Tennessee west to Oklahoma are getting set for a major winter storm. Not only will snow be a component with this system but freezing rain will be a major player. I don’t mind a little snow on occasion however I don’t want the freezing rain. A surge of cold air is spreading southward [...]Good afternoon! We were able to enjoy another bright sunny day, although the winds were a bit higher than our early forecast thinking. The breeze will diminish tonight, with a light freeze. Tomorrow is going to be a very nice day, with highs near 60 and lots of sunshine. Our northernmost communities may experience another [...]With a bright sky in place over our area it is hard to imagine rain close to home. However, that was the case over north Alabama. Through much of the afternoon the extreme northern counties dealt with mostly cloudy weather, light showers, and temperatures in the middle 40s. The wind was really howling out there [...]A good Sunday to you! After several tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings this morning, conditions have greatly improved across the state. Skies managed to clear out during the late evening hours over west Alabama, but there are more clouds and a few showers moving in from Mississippi. We can expect a stray between 10 PM [...]
: skip to main skip to sidebar Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides my latest forecast or comments on current weather Sunday , January 17, 2010 The Storm A really interesting event is occurring--one the shows the strengths and weaknesses of weather prediction technology . Here is the latest infrared satellite image for 5 PM of the approaching storm . Can you see the swirl of clouds off of the Oregon coast The low is closely associated with that swirl . However , there is some hint of a double center the second one NW of the obvious one As the occluded front associated with the low moved up the CA and Oregon coasts there was a strengthening of the coastal winds , with 30-50 kts winds all over the place . At Cape Blanco , a normally windy spot the ID is K92S there were sustained winds of 67 knots with gusts to 80. This is hurricane . force Now a big problem for the weather community is that many of the offshore weather buoys are A map of coastal buoys from NOAA broken . All the NOAA buoys along 130W . which could have given us a good idea of what we are dealing with are broken The further offshore buoy 46006 is broken . Every year this seems to happen . a few good storms and: skip to main skip to sidebar Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides my latest forecast or comments on current weather Saturday , January 16, 2010 Coastal Winds The new high resolution forecasts 4km grid spacing , initialed 4 AM are in and the potential for a significant coastal wind event remains . Here are two plots of sea level pressure and surface wind speed for 4PM , 10 PM , and 4 AM , starting on Sunday afternoon . A deep low center moves up the coast and sustained winds on the coast are 45-50 kts . Gusts could easily be 15-20 kts . higher Some of you have noted the tendency for coastal acceleration . and this does occur--in fact I just finished a paper on coastal windstorms where I talk about this effect . The interaction of onshore flow with the coastal terrain produces the speed . up The Portland NWS has now put up a storm watch for the Oregon coastal waters . From their : statement A STORM WATCH IS ISSUED WHEN THE RISK OF STORM FORCE WINDS OF 48 TO 63 KNOTS HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED . BUT THE SPECIFIC TIMING AND OR LOCATION IS STILL UNCERTAIN . IT IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL LEAD TIME FOR MARINERS WHO MAY WISH TO CONSIDER ALTERING THEIR . PLANS The 10 am run: skip to main skip to sidebar Cliff Mass Weather Blog This blog provides my latest forecast or comments on current weather Friday , January 15, 2010 The First Coastal Wind Event The latest model runs have come in and the first major coastal wind event looks like it will hit southern Oregon N . CA during the middle to late afternoon on Sunday see graphic below of sea level pressure and wind speed at 4 PM Sunday . These are sustained winds averaged over roughly 10 minutes not gusts , which can be considerably higher . The reds are sustained winds of 50 kts hurricane strength winds are 64 kts or more Certainly , the gusts will make that . These strong winds are associated with a tight low that moves up the coast , while weakening . By 4 AM the low and strong winds will reach Washington see other graphic The Medford NWS folks have put out this : statement LOW PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN WEST OF THE COAST SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT . WHILE THERE IS SOME UNCERTAINTY WITH RESPECT TO THE STRENGTH AND LOCATION OF THE LOW . SOUTH WINDS ARE LIKELY TO INCREASE TO NEAR WARNING LEVELS ALONG THE COAST SUNDAY AFTERNOON . AT THIS TIME . THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SUSTAINED WINDS