James Spann: Storms move into north Alabama late tonight

WARM MAY DAY: Alabama’s weather is dry this afternoon with temperatures in the 80s. Clouds will thicken tonight, and a band of strong storms ahead of a surface front will move into far north Alabama around midnight. The storms will be capable of producing strong, gusty winds and possibly some small hail; the tornado threat for Alabama is very low.

The storms will drop southward before dawn Saturday, reaching places like Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Anniston and Gadsden around 3-4 a.m. The storms should be weakening, but gusty winds are still likely.

Showers and storms will dissipate over central Alabama by midmorning, and many places will be dry during the midday and afternoon. However, a few widely scattered storms are possible, and where they do form, they could produce strong winds and some small hail. The southern quarter of Alabama will remain dry thanks to an upper ridge over the Gulf. Afternoon highs will stay in the mid to upper 80s.

A few scattered thunderstorms are possible Saturday night and Sunday, and some could be strong. But neither day will be a washout, and it won’t rain everywhere. Highs hold in the 80s.

NEXT WEEK: Most of Alabama will be very warm and dry Monday and during the day Tuesday. We will forecast a good chance of showers and thunderstorms Tuesday night into Wednesday morning; a few strong storms are possible, but for now it looks like the highest threat of severe storms will be north and west of Alabama with this system. Much cooler air invades the Deep South later in the week; cooler spots over north Alabama could reach the 40s by Friday morning. For now, the Memorial Day weekend looks dry with warm days and pleasant nights.

ON THIS DATE IN 1989: Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather in the south-central United States. Thunderstorms spawned 20 tornadoes, and there were 180 reports of large hail and damaging winds. A tornado in Cleburne, Texas, caused $30 million damage. A violent F4 tornado touched down near Brackettville, Texas, and a strong F3 tornado killed one person and injured 28 others at Jarrell, Texas.

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