Noon Update: Welcome to Spring
Today is the first day of spring as the vernal equinox occurred at 11:15 AM CDT, which means spring is finally here.
Here in Alabama, breezy westerly winds are bringing in cooler and drier air. Temperatures won’t rise very much today, hovering in the lower and middle 60s. There will be some clouds hanging tough along with a little light rain as well. You will feel those westerly winds too, as they will average some 10-20 mph with occasional gusts to 35 mph. A wind advisory is in effect until 7PM. A secondary cold front will arrive later today, turning those winds to northwesterly late in the day. Gusts to nearly 30 mph will be common tonight. Lows tonight will be in the upper 30s and lower 40s.
REST OF WEEK: With dry air in place, that will mean mainly sunny skies and highs in the lower 50s to the lower 60s from north to south throughout Central Alabama. Thursday will start off rather chilly as early morning lows will range from the lower to upper 30s. The sky will be mostly clear throughout the day, and temperatures will be a little warmer topping out in the upper 50s to the upper 60s from north to south. Ridging will start to move in for Friday and the flow will shift from out of the west to out of the southwest by the afternoon hours. Afternoon highs make into the upper 60s to the mid-70s, after starting off the day in the upper 30s to the mid-40s. With the inflow of warmer air from the southwest, an increase in cloud cover can be expected as well. We’ll have a mix of sun and clouds and we may have an isolated shower or two over the extreme northern parts of the area as a low starts to move closer to the area from the northwest. Rain chances look very slim at this point, and just about all of Alabama will stay dry.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: The approaching low will move through Missouri and Tennessee throughout the weekend and will bring an increase in our risk for scattered showers and a few thunderstorms, mainly during the late night hours on Saturday and through the day on Sunday. Highs will be in the 70s throughout the area with lows in the 50s. Skies will be mostly cloudy and the better chances for rain and thunderstorms will be over the northern half of the area. The good news is that severe weather does not look likely at this time.
Have a great day!
Ryan
