« February 2012 | Main | April 2012 »
The Storm Prediction Center has a Slight Risk area for severe weather right on top of the Tennessee Valley for today. Some storms may be strong to severe with damaging winds and large hail possible with a few of the storms.
Rain chances diminsh to only slight for tomorrow. But slight chances for storms will remain through late week.
Brian Fowler
Meteorologist
WAFF 48 Storm Team
We Track Storms
256-533-6397
I have good news and bad news for allergy sufferers. The bad news is that pollen levels remain sky high for the next few days. The good news though is that we're likely now past the peak.
Pollen is typically measured using a device called a 'rotorod'. The rotorod is a group of clear rods coated with a silicone grease that are exposed to the air at certain intervals over a 24 hour period. Pollen grains are collected as they stick to the grease coated rods. The rods are then examined under a microscope where the individual grains of pollen are counted and indentified. Based on the counts, a concentration of pollen in the air is calculated and given as a number of grains per cubic meter of air.
The last pollen count done in Hunstville was on Tuesday March 27. The count was 1583 grains per cubic meter...a number big enough the classify the pollen levels in the 'Extreme' range. The highest pollen count this spring was recorded on March the 20th. That peak came out to 4633 grains per cubic meter! So on a positive note it appears we are past the peak. My car backs this up too...I've noticed that it is not as yellow this week as it was last week.
Tree pollen is the biggest contributer to the pollen count this time of year. Next up will be grass and weed pollen as we head into the summer months, wrapping up with the dreaded ragweed pollen as we head into fall. But at least for now, some relief is on the way for spring allergy sufferers soon!
Jeff Castle
WAFF 48 Storm Team
Now that we are one week into spring, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the winter that wasn't. If you thought it was mild, you are correct. Our friends at the National Weather Service in Huntsville have crunched all the numbers and here are the results. They looked at 2 sets of data...the first involves Astronomical Winter, which covers the period between the Winter Solstice and Vernal Equinox (which was Dec. 22nd to March 19th this time); the second is Meteorological Winter which begins Dec. 1 and ends the last day of February.
To come up with the numbers, it's just a simple of average of all the daily high and low temperatures for the period. For Huntsville and the Shoals, this was the WARMEST astronomical winter on record. For Huntsville the average temperature was 50.3 degrees dethroning the winter of 1973-74 as the warmest on record (that winter saw an average temperature of 49.8 degrees). For the Shoals, an average temperature of 50.6 degrees beat the old record of 50.0 degrees set back in the winter of 1937-38.
For meteorological winter, both locations ranked in top 6 warmest winters. For Huntsville the 47.5 degree average tied for 5th with the winter of 1926-27. The Shoals came in 6th on the list with an average temperature of 47.7 degrees.
We've also seen much fewer than average freezing temperatures (32 degrees or below) for the cold season (Oct-May). For both Huntsville and Shoals the average is 64 days during that stretch. So far we've only had 38 in Huntsville and 42 in Muscle Shoals.
We've not hit freezing in Huntsville since Feb. 28th and March 4th in Muscle Shoals. If we don't hit freezing again in Huntsville this spring, that Feb. 28th would be the earliest last freeze on record, beating out March 7, 2010, which is the current record holder. The record for Muscle Shoals won't be beat however, with Feb. 23rd 1953 being the record.
Snow fell on several occasions, but did not amount to much adding up to just a trace in Huntsville and only .1" in the Shoals for the season.
Jeff Castle
WAFF 48 Storm Team
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0350 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0452 PM CDT SAT MAR 24 2012 AREAS AFFECTED...SRN MIDDLE TN...NORTH AL...FAR NWRN GA CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH UNLIKELY VALID 242152Z - 242245Z A FEW STRONG STORMS PRODUCING HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS SRN MIDDLE TN...NORTH AL...AND FAR NWRN GA THROUGH SUNSET. ANY INSTANCES OF SVR STORMS WILL BE SPORADIC AND MARGINAL...AND...AS SUCH...THE ISSUANCE OF A WW IS NOT WARRANTED. CONVECTION HAS RECENTLY SHOWN SOME SIGNS OF INTENSIFICATION OVER PARTS OF SRN MIDDLE TN AND NORTH AL ALONG SEWD-MOVING LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE BANDS BENEATH COLD MID-LEVEL TEMPERATURES ATTENDANT TO A CLOSED LOW OVER THE OH/TN RIVER VALLEY REGION. POCKETS OF INSOLATION AHEAD OF THE CONVERGENCE BANDS HAVE STEEPENED LOW-LEVEL LAPSE RATES...YIELDING SUFFICIENT /ALBEIT MARGINAL/ SBCAPE SUCH THAT DEEPER CONVECTION WILL BE OF CONCERN ACROSS THE DISCUSSION AREA. SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS ACTIVITY. A BAND OF ENHANCED DEEP-LAYER FLOW OVER THE SRN FRINGES OF THE CLOSED LOW IS BEING MANIFESTED IN THE UNIDIRECTIONAL WLY WIND PROFILE SAMPLED BY THE HUNTSVILLE VWP DATA...WHICH FEATURE 43 KT OF SFC-6-KM BULK SHEAR. THIS MAY SUPPORT A FEW INSTANCES OF MORE ORGANIZED/PERSISTENT LINE SEGMENTS OR MULTICELL CLUSTERS WITH AN ISOLATED/BRIEF THREAT FOR MARGINALLY SVR HAIL/WIND. HOWEVER...THE ABSENCE OF GREATER BUOYANCY WILL PREVENT A MORE ROBUST THREAT FROM ENSUING. THE THREAT FOR STRONG/SVR STORMS SHOULD CEASE QUICKLY AFTER SUNSET AS THE NOCTURNAL STABILIZATION COMMENCES. ..COHEN.. 03/24/2012 ATTN...WFO...MRX...FFC...OHX...BMX...HUN...
Spring officially arrived at 12:14am last night, but it has been feeling like it's already been here for the last several weeks. In fact, the last few days have felt more like early summer than spring. So you may think it's safe to go ahead and start working in your flower beds and planting that vegetable garden.
While the next couple of weeks look like a continuation of the mild weather we've had lately, we have not quite hit the time of year where we are pretty safe from seeing freezing temperatures. For most areas we can still hit 32 as late as late April or early May.
The information below comes from the National Weather Service in Huntsville. Earliest, latest, and average last freeze dates are listed for various areas in north Alabama and southern Tennessee. Also listed are the average last hard freeze (temperatures at or below 28 degrees).
City Average Average Earliest Latest
Last Last Last Last
Freeze Hard Freeze Freeze Freeze
Huntsville April 3rd March 18th March 7th (2010) May 7th (1944)
Muscle Shoals March 29th March 15th February 23rd (1953) April 27th (1919)
Belle Mina April 4th March 18th March 11th (1995) April 25th (2005)
Bridgeport April 10th March 29th March 22nd (1965) May 4th (1971)
Cullman April 9th March 26th March 10th (1945) May 5th (1976)
Fayetteville April 16th April 4th March 27th (2010) May 6th (1968)
Guntersville March 28th March 10th March 5th (2009) April 28th (1976)
Moulton April 5th March 21st March 8th (2010) April 24th (1986)
Russellville April 11th March 28th March 8th (2010) May 13th (1960)
Scottsboro April 7th March 23rd March 9th (2010) May 10th (1906)
Crossville April 4th March 23rd February 26th (2011) April 23rd (1986)
Winchester April 11th March 27th March 10th (1995) April 25th (2005)
I know it's tempting to go ahead and plant, but you might want to wait until the forecast for the end of April looks clear just in case Mother Nature has a late spring suprise for us.
Jeff Castle
WAFF 48 Storm Team
It's A/C time here in the Valley even before Spring officially arrives. That will be Tuesday, btw. Temperatures hit the mid 80s tomorrow and will repeat on Tuesday as well.
And while we'll be toasting in the record-breaking temperatures and basking in the sunshine, the Plains will be dealing with potentially severe weather on Monday as a strong upper-level system moves into that part of the country. Severe weather and even tornadoes may bring havoc to the Central U.S. on Monday.
Brian Fowler
Meteorologist
WAFF 48 Storm Team
We Track Storms
256-533-6397
There is a slight risk for severe weather in Western Tennessee and extending into Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri. That does not include the Tennessee Valley but much like Friday, showers and a few strong thunderstorms may develop anytime throughout today.
Temperatures will climb into the lower 80s across the area this afternoon. The warm-moist air and a continued unstable atmosphere will help fuel any storm development throughout the day.
Tomorrow will be dry in the Valley with an upper-level ridge building across the southeast. This will also lead to warmer temperatures heading into next week.
Brian Fowler
Meteorologist
WAFF 48 Storm Team
We Track Storms
256-533-6397
Much like yesterday, a few showers or t'storms may develop across the Tennessee Valley throughout today. The only difference from Wednesday will rain and storm activity may be more wide-spread. Temperatures will reach into the upper 70s and lower 80s today under partly to mostly cloudy skies, otherwise. Some storms today may produce gusty winds and small hail.
There is a slight risk of severe weather across parts of Tennessee and Kentucky today, but that does not include our area at this time.
Brian Fowler
Meteorologist
WAFF 48 Storm Team
We Track Storms
256-533-6397
Warming up today as the clouds begin to mix out and give way to sunshine. Temperatures climb into the mid and upper 70s this afternoon. Sunshine and warm temperatures....what more do you need for a really nice day!
But at the same time, moisture levels are still high due to a southerly wind all across the South. With moisture and a little sunshine to create some instability across the Valley, a few isolated showers or thunderstorms may develop anytime today.
So, while you should go ahead and expect some great weather today, just be on the look out for a rogue shower or storm.
Brian Fowler
Meteorologist
WAFF 48 Storm Team
We Track Storms
256-533-6397
The weather pattern through the weekend remains very un-March-like. This time of year we're typically dealing with active weather including the risk for severe storms, and temperature swings as spring and winter are battling it out. None of that appears to be in our immediate future.
The jet stream, which is the fast moving river of air in the upper atmosphere, will be displaced far the the north all this week. Weak high pressure across the south with keep a southerly breeze in place keeping us warm and providing enough moisture to feed some storms at times.
With the jet so far away from us, no major storm systems or cold fronts will be passing through anytime soon. Any cold air stays locked up in Canada to the north of the jet stream. Unseasonably warm temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s look likely for daytime highs, with overnight lows not falling much below 60. The southerly wind will keep just enough moisture around to give us a few showers and storms at times, but with the main storm track well north of us, the threat for seeing any severe weather looks low.
Jeff Castle
WAFF 48 Storm Team
Birmingham
|
Columbus, GA
|
Huntsville
|
Montgomery
|
RSS
