Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Birmingham, AL
Issued by NWS Birmingham, AL
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657 FXUS64 KBMX 081913 AFDBMX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 113 PM CST Fri Nov 8 2024 ...New SHORT TERM, AVIATION... .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Saturday) Issued at 1217 PM CST FRI NOV 8 2024 Broken to overcast skies continue across much of Central Alabama, as isentropic lift continues with easterly flow at the surface and southwesterly flow aloft. A surface front is meandering over the region, currently draped across Central Mississippi, Alabama, and northern Georgia. Even though this front will remain stalled across the Deep South today, we really won`t see much in the way of shower development due to a 700mb ridge centered over the area and a large amount of dry air aloft. As clouds slowly mix out through the afternoon hours, temperatures should still be able to rise into the upper 70s to lower 80s, with a very humid feel to the airmass with dewpoints in the upper 60s to near 70 degrees. As 700mb flow becomes more southerly overnight and into the day on Saturday, rain chances will begin to pick up. Mississippi and western Alabama will become wedged in between the southwesterly flow from the strong closed low and longwave trough over the western CONUS and the southerly flow on the western side of the 500mb ridge over Florida. The stalled front will move northward as a warm front while at the same time, a backdoor cold air damming wedge will move westward from Georgia and the Carolinas by Saturday afternoon. Rain chances will remain highest across the northwestern half of Central Alabama where the best atmospheric moisture and lift will be present. A few storms will also be possible. Warm and humid conditions will continue, as highs reach the low to mid 80s in the southern counties, while 70s are expected where more rain develops across the north. In addition, we`ll see some cooler and drier air try to move in from the east Saturday evening for locations such as Heflin, Centre, and Wedowee behind the backdoor front. 56/GDG && .LONG TERM... (Saturday night through next Thursday) Issued at 247 AM CST FRI NOV 8 2024 A more progressive pattern looks to develop next week as an upper- level trough and subtropical jet shoves ridging over the East Coast further into the Atlantic and suppresses it. Meanwhile, Hurricane Rafael will meander westward across the Gulf of Mexico, having no impact to Central Alabama other than to send some moisture northward. A surface low will lift from the Central Plains across the Great Lakes region and into eastern Canada Saturday night through Monday as a cold front moves into the Lower MS River Valley, becoming more east to west oriented and meandering across Central Alabama before high pressure builds back in on Tuesday. There will be periods of scattered to numerous showers with a few thunderstorms, mainly across western portions of the area, beginning Saturday night and continuing through Sunday. As the surface low lifts further away on Monday, rain chances will decrease as forcing weakens along the front and dry mid-level air rushes in from the west, but it will be cloudy with some isolated to scattered showers around during the day. In general, temperatures look to return to a more seasonable range next week compared to what we`ve been experiencing as of late. Zonal mid to upper-level flow develops on Tuesday with pleasant weather expected. A second trough and associated front will move through the area by Wednesday and Thursday bringing another increase in rain chances, but models diverge on the strength of the front and how far south the trough extends into the region, so the amount/coverage of rain we will see is still in question. Regardless, it appears a cooler airmass could arrive towards the end of the week as we settle beneath deep, northwesterly flow. 86/Martin && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1217 PM CST FRI NOV 8 2024 Ceilings have finally risen to VFR category at most terminals, and VFR conditions will persist through much of the evening and overnight hours with light easterly surface winds. Development of at least MVFR stratus is expected once again tonight, but may not come in until later, between 09z and 12z based on current model guidance. We`ll monitor observation trends and overnight satellite for potential earlier amendments if necessary. SHRA chances will increase during the day on Saturday, and have gone ahead and introduced PROB30s at TCL, BHM, and EET, with best chance of SHRA impacting the terminal at TCL after 18z Saturday. MVFR clouds will linger through the mid-morning hours very similar to what we observed today. 56/GDG && .FIRE WEATHER... Daytime minimum RHs will remain well above critical thresholds for the next few days with moisture increasing this weekend as a front moves towards the area. 20 ft winds will be from the northwest today at 5 to 8 mph then gradually become southeasterly at 5 to 10 mph by Saturday. There will be some opportunities for rain, primarily across the western half of Central Alabama, this weekend as the front moves closer to the area. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 60 79 59 71 / 10 30 40 40 Anniston 64 78 61 71 / 10 30 30 40 Birmingham 65 78 64 71 / 20 40 50 50 Tuscaloosa 68 81 66 74 / 30 40 60 50 Calera 66 81 65 74 / 20 40 40 40 Auburn 68 78 62 72 / 10 30 20 20 Montgomery 70 82 67 77 / 10 20 20 30 Troy 69 81 65 76 / 10 20 20 20 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...56/GDG LONG TERM....86 AVIATION...56/GDG