Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Birmingham, AL
Issued by NWS Birmingham, AL
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133 FXUS64 KBMX 230534 AFDBMX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 1134 PM CST Fri Nov 22 2024 ...New AVIATION... .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Saturday) Issued at 505 PM CST FRI NOV 22 2024 Key Messages: - Freezing temperatures are forecast across all but the far southeast portion of Central Alabama from midnight tonight through 8 am Saturday morning. - A widespread frost is expected across all of Central Alabama from midnight tonight through 8 am Saturday morning. The pressure gradient over the southeast that has been contributing to the gusting winds the past couple of days, will finally weaken as high pressure develops over the MS River Valley and moves east through Saturday. Winds will near calm overnight, with a brisk 7-8 mph sustained wind expected Saturday. Northwest flow will remain through the night tonight, and into the morning Saturday, with cold and dry air advected into the state. Temperatures through the early morning will approach freezing across much of the state, so a Freeze Warning will remain in effect from 12 am through 8 am, with a Frost Advisory for the far southeastern counties. Mid level flow will transition to out of the west late in the day Saturday as that surface high approaches the state. This high pressure and transitioning of winds will allow for high temperatures, compared to today`s temperatures, to be several degrees warmer and closer to the normal values for this time of year, with highs in the upper 50s in the north and the lower 60s in the south. 24 && .LONG TERM... (Saturday night through next Thursday) Issued at 1247 PM CST FRI NOV 22 2024 Only made minor changes to the forecast, speeding up the front Monday into Tuesday slightly. It now appears the front may push south and east of our area by early Tuesday afternoon, ending rain chances earlier than previously forecast. Not much more clarity for the Thanksgiving system. Model guidance still varies considerably on the evolution of the trough and low pressure system that will move through the region. For now, have kept rain chances similar to as before. The big question will be whether any instability is able to build in before the cold front pushes through - essentially, does a warm sector materialize or not, and to what degree. It`ll be something we continue to watch for any potential severe threat on Thursday, but guidance still generally hints at limited instability overall. 25/Owen Previous long-term discussion: (Saturday night through next Thursday) Issued at 324 AM CST FRI NOV 22 2024 One more chilly night is expected Saturday night and into Sunday morning with good radiational cooling and mainly calm winds. Cooler valley locations will likely drop down close to the freezing mark or just below, with most other locations falling into the lower and middle 30s with widespread frost once again. The surface ridge moves off to the east on Sunday, with warm air advection and southerly flow returning. Temperatures will warm into the 60s on Sunday and 70s by Monday, along with increasing low level moisture and dewpoints rising into the upper 50s and lower 60s. The next cold front is expected to arrive by Tuesday with better agreement amongst guidance during this period with the front moving into Central Alabama. With the base of the longwave trough axis well to our north over the Great Lakes and surface low moving into eastern Canada, the southward movement of the front is expected to slow considerably. Rain showers will move in from the northwest ahead of the front Monday night and into Tuesday morning, before all rain diminishes completely by late Tuesday afternoon. We`ll have to see how far south the front will make it Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, as temperatures will be greatly affected by the position of the front. Guidance trends are hinting at the front returning back to the north as a warm front by Thanksgiving Day as the next system takes shape off to our west. Needless to say, we have lots of details to still iron out in terms of how potent the approaching system will be. However, it does appear that a strong upper level southwesterly jet developing on Thanksgiving Day through Friday of next week could lead to a fairly widespread rain event developing over much of the Deep South. The depth of the warm sector would then better indicate the chance for storms during that period. More details to come over the coming days. 56/GDG && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1134 PM CST FRI NOV 22 2024 High pressure will build over the area Saturday with VFR conditions expected through the TAF period. 24 && .FIRE WEATHER... Continued rain-free weather expected the air mass gradually moderates before the next cold front on Tuesday. Min RHs over the weekend will be generally above 35%, increasing the 50-70% by Monday as moisture returns ahead of the front. Northwesterly winds will continue through tonight before decreasing and becoming more calm by Saturday evening. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 31 59 32 65 / 0 0 0 0 Anniston 33 60 35 67 / 0 0 0 0 Birmingham 33 58 36 66 / 0 0 0 0 Tuscaloosa 33 61 36 68 / 0 0 0 0 Calera 35 61 36 68 / 0 0 0 0 Auburn 35 61 38 66 / 0 0 0 0 Montgomery 33 63 36 69 / 0 0 0 0 Troy 35 62 36 68 / 0 0 0 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Freeze Warning until 8 AM CST Saturday for the following counties: Autauga-Bibb-Blount-Bullock-Calhoun-Chambers-Cherokee- Chilton-Clay-Cleburne-Coosa-Dallas-Elmore-Etowah-Fayette-Greene- Hale-Jefferson-Lamar-Lowndes-Macon-Marengo-Marion-Montgomery- Perry-Pickens-Randolph-Shelby-St. Clair-Sumter-Talladega- Tallapoosa-Tuscaloosa-Walker-Winston. Frost Advisory until 8 AM CST Saturday for the following counties: Barbour-Lee-Pike-Russell. && $$ SHORT TERM...24 LONG TERM....25 AVIATION...24