Sun To The North, Clouds To The South
Currently at the midday hour across Central Alabama, skies in the northern half of the area are sunny and clear, but for much of the southern half of the area, clouds are keeping the sun from shining down on the lovely cities of Tuscaloosa, Alexander City, Auburn, and Selma at this time. Under some of those clouds in the southwestern parts of the area, there could be a few sprinkles falling.
A weak front will be passing through the area today as a trough will be passing through the eastern U.S. This should allow for those clouds in the southern half of the area to be pushed to the south throughout the remainder of the afternoon and evening hours. Highs will be in the upper 50s in the northern parts of the area, with 60s likely throughout the rest of Central Alabama. A few spots in the south may get close to or touch 70 degrees. Skies will be mostly clear for much of the overnight hours except for a couple of hours of some clouds. Lows will be in the 30s for most with a few 40s to the south.
Current Temperatures Across Central Alabama
Temperatures across Central Alabama are currently ranging from the upper 50s in the northwestern parts of the area, to the mid and upper 60s in the southeastern parts. The warm spot at this time is Eufaula at 68 degrees, with the cool spot belonging to both Haleyville and Auburn at 57 degrees.
Birmingham’s Climatology And Records
The normal high for December 22nd is 55, while the normal low is 34. The record high for today was set back in 1990 at 71 degrees. The record low was set back in 1989 at 4 degrees.
What To Expect For Christmas Eve Eve
Another nice day can be expected across Central Alabama for the day before the day before Christmas. A mix of sun and clouds during the daylight hours with highs in the 60s for much the area, with upper 50s for the extreme northern parts. Mostly cloudy to completely overcast skies can be expected for the evening and overnight hours, and a few showers could be possible in the extreme northwestern parts of the area. Overnight lows will be in the upper 40s to the low 50s.
Latest On The Drought Situation
As of this morning’s release of the U.S. Drought Monitor for Alabama, over 98% of the state remains in drought conditions, which is actually an improvement from last week when the entire state was classified in a drought. Over 86% of the state remains in severe drought conditions, with over 51% of the state in extreme or exceptional drought conditions. Believe it or now, less than 2% of the state was in an extreme drought just three months ago.
National & World Weather Extremes
Three locations recorded the warmest high temperature for Wednesday across the U.S. Miami and Marathon Florida, along with Rio Grande Village Texas, all reached 80 degrees. West Yellowstone Montana recorded the coldest low temperature in the U.S. for last night into the early morning hours today at -22 degrees. Around the globe, the warmest temperature for Wednesday was recorded in Mayiwane, Swaziland in the southern part of Africa at 129.9 degrees. The coldest temperature was recorded in Summit, Greenland at -60.5 degrees. The highest rain total from around the globe on Wednesday was recorded in Wonsan, North Korea at 11.57 inches
On This Day In Weather History: 1839
The second of triple December storms hit the northeastern U.S. The storm produced 25 inches of snow at Gettysburg, PA, and gales in New England, but only produced light snow along the coast.
Forecaster: Scott Martin (Twitter: @scottmartinwx)
Central Alabama Weather 