A Sunny And Chilly Thursday At Midday
Sunny skies and cold temperatures will greet you outside when you head out for your lunch break at the midday hour. Only a few clouds are showing up in the extreme northern part of the state, and some very thin and high clouds are showing up over the southern portions of Central Alabama.
For the rest of the day, you can expect more cold and dry air flowing into the state from the north as a surface high pressure center will be moving across the Tennessee River and Ohio River Valleys. Skies will be mostly clear to sunny, and afternoon highs will be mostly in the 40s across the area, with a few spots staying in the 30s in the north, and a few spots hitting the 50s in the south. Clear skies and cold temperatures can be expected for tonight, as lows will drop into the 20s across the area, with a few colder spots possibly dipping into the teens, while a few 30s can be found in the south.
Current Temperatures Across Central Alabama
At 12:50PM, temperatures are currently ranging from the low to mid 30s in the extreme northern parts of the area to the mid 50s in the extreme southern part of the area. Warm spot is currently Eufaula at 56 degrees, while Cullman is currently the cool spot at 32 degrees.
Birmingham’s Climatology And Records
The normal high for December 15th is 56, while the normal low is 35. The record high for today was set back in 1971 at 77 degrees. The record low was set back in 1901 at 8 degrees.
More Seasonal-Like Temperatures For Friday
As that surface high shifts eastward towards the east coast, winds will be shifting to a more easterly and southeasterly flow across Central Alabama. This will allow for more seasonal-like temperatures for the area. Skies will be mostly clear and highs will be in the 50s across the area. Clouds will start to move in for the evening and overnight hours ahead of our next system that could bring strong to severe storms to our area on Saturday and early Sunday. A few showers could be possible in the extreme northwestern parts of Central Alabama, but the main action will be later into the day on Saturday and into the day on Sunday. Overnight lows will only drop into the mid 40s to the low 50s across the area.
National Extremes
Three locations in Florida (Miami, Opa Locka, West Kendall) tied for having the warmest recorded high temperature for Wednesday at 87 degrees. Two locations (Aberdeen South Dakota, Fosston Montana) tied for coldest recorded low temperature for last night into the early morning hours today at -22 degrees.
On This Day In Weather History: 2010
A winter storm swept across parts of the Southeast U.S., bringing a mixed bag of snow, sleet, and freezing rain, making for treacherous travel conditions. At least eight people were killed in Alabama, Mississippi, and North Carolina in weather-related traffic fatalities. Schools were forced to close and thousands of residents lost power in North Carolina and Virginia. The winter storm also impacted Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington D.C.
Forecaster: Scott Martin (Twitter: @scottmartinwx)
Central Alabama Weather 