RAIN OVERNIGHT INTO SATURDAY; STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE NEXT WEEK… Cloud coverage is set to increase on this Friday ahead of rain and a few embedded thunderstorms becoming possible late tonight into Saturday. Other than a few isolated showers over west Alabama, I am expecting this evening to be dry and mild. This is good news for the high school football playoff games ongoing across our region tonight. Rain and storms will linger into Saturday afternoon and evening as timing with the expected rain has slowed somewhat. Sunny skies return Sunday into Monday ahead of a chance of strong storms during the middle part of next week. We’ve also got the latest info (below) about your Thanksgiving forecast. Let’s talk details.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS FORECAST… Most locales across our region will remain dry through 9-10PM tonight. There could be a few rain showers over west Alabama as early as 9PM, especially in parts of Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, and Marengo counties, but I expect pretty much all other areas south and east of there to remain dry. Temperatures will be in the 60s for the games tonight, much warmer than the last few weeks. We wish the best of luck to ALL of our local teams!
RAIN SATURDAY; COLD FRONT MOVES BY… Rain will spread eastward across our region early Saturday morning. I expect much of the morning and afternoon hours to be wet with numerous showers around. There is a slightly higher chance we could have a few thunderstorms in the mix of all this as well. At this time, I am not expecting any severe weather issues with this particular passing system. Our next real chance of strong storms is likely to happen Tuesday into Wednesday of the upcoming week. Rain will end from west to east on Saturday evening as temperatures nosedive from the 70s into the 50s as a cold front moves by.
SUNNY SKIES EXPECTED SUNDAY INTO MONDAY… Clouds will clear out late Saturday into Sunday, setting up a nice Sunday afternoon. High temperatures will drop back into the low-60s after the passage of the cold front. There is a good chance overnight lows on Monday could drop back into the upper-30s across the inland areas of south Alabama.
STORMS POSSIBLE TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY… We will need to closely monitor the weather system moving our way during the middle part of the upcoming week as there could be a chance of strong to potentially severe storms. This is highly subject to change, but for now, it looks like Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning will be the timeframe when we may have the greatest chance of rain and thunderstorms. Temperatures will surge into the 70s by Tuesday and odds are high that atmospheric instability will be a bit more robust for this system as opposed to the system moving by Saturday (tomorrow) morning. I will be closely analyzing model trends and data this weekend to get a better handle on the situation over the next few days. Be sure to check back with me early next week for the latest info about this.
THANKSGIVING & BLACK FRIDAY FORECAST… I mentioned in the forecast discussion yesterday that the forecast for Thanksgiving Day looks dry. That holds true, but the model data has changed somewhat. Most models are in agreement that temperatures look unseasonably warm Thanksgiving Day Thursday into Black Friday. High temperatures will likely be in the mid- to upper-70s with morning lows in the 50s. Forecast confidence in this 7-9 day timeframe remains very low. We’ll know more specifics by Sunday.
FIRST LOOK AT THE IRON BOWL FORECAST… The annual notorious college football matchup between the Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide is scheduled for a 2:30PM CST kickoff on Saturday, November 30, 2019. The game will be played at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. This is 8 days out at this point, meaning forecast confidence remains LOW. Taking a first estimate at the forecast, we’ll call it partly cloudy with temperatures in the low-70s for the game with low rain chances. This may have to be significantly changed in the days ahead as we get more data in from the models.
SEBASTIEN MOVING NORTHEAST… The late season tropical storm, Sebastien, continues to move northeast and out to sea over the central Atlantic Ocean. The system is in the process of being absorbed by a cold front. No direct United States impacts are expected from Sebastien. The 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season will officially end November 30.
APP… If you haven’t already, be sure to download the free RedZone Weather app to keep up with all the latest information on the world of weather in south Alabama and northwest Florida. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Once you have the app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner) and tap the large, yellow Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.
See all the graphics and details in your Friday #rzw forecast video. Enjoy your weekend!