First Alert Weather: Mild & mostly clear evening, active weather returns Friday

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - First Alert AccuTrack Satellite and Radar shows a mostly clear sky across Central Alabama this evening. With dry air and calm winds in place, temperatures will continue to drop overnight with upper 30s and low 40s by tomorrow morning. So though you’ll need the jacket when you walk out the door, Thursday will be a downright gorgeous day! We should see plenty of sunshine tomorrow afternoon with highs in the low to mid 70s. Winds will shift from the north to the southeast at 5-10 mph. The southerly component will help us warm up above average as we finish out the week.

Scattered Showers/Storms Possible Friday: We will likely see cloud cover increase Thursday night into Friday morning with temperatures cooling into the mid 50s. Friday is shaping up to be mostly cloudy with high temperatures climbing into the upper 70s. I’ll hold on to a 40% chance for showers and a few thunderstorms during off-and-on throughout the day. The best chance for showers will likely occur along and north of I-20/59.

Next Big Thing: Our next big thing will likely arrive Friday night into Saturday morning. The Storm Prediction Center has issued an enhanced risk - threat level 3 out of 5 - for parts of the Midwest and down into the Southeast. It includes western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and far northwest Alabama. A slight risk- threat level 2 out of 5 - has been issued for areas along and north of I-20/59. The threat lowers south and east of Birmingham. Our main threat Friday night includes damaging winds up to 60 mph, isolated tornadoes, and large hail. We want to make sure you have multiple ways to receive warnings between 9 PM Friday and Saturday at 7 AM. We encourage you have a NOAA Weather Radio turned on with fresh batteries. It will be able to wake you up in the middle of the night if a severe storm develops. The stormy weather should move out of Central Alabama by the mid-morning hours of Saturday. Saturday afternoon should end up dry with highs in the mid 70s.

Dry and Nice Sunday: Sunday is looking like a beautiful day for most across Central Alabama. The cold front will move through reinforcing some dry air into the area. Temperatures are forecast to cool into the mid to upper 40s Sunday morning. Sunday should end up partly cloudy with highs in the low to mid 70s. The best chance for rain will be across South Alabama, so if you’re heading back home from Spring Break along the coast, stay up to date with any wet travel weather on the WBRC First Alert Weather app.

Stormy Weather Next Week: We are looking at another dynamic weather system developing across the Central and Eastern United States that could bring a surge of rain and storms to Central Alabama by early next week. Right now, we have rain coverage at around 40-50% Monday and Tuesday. Our models disagree on the timing and intensity of any potential rain and storm chances though. For now, I would plan for at least a chance of rain on Monday with highs in the low to mid 70s. Stormy weather could continue into Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Severe weather will be possible as well. Once we get through Friday night’s stormy setup, we will have a better handle on the severe threats for early next week.

Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here.

Copyright 2023 WBRC. All rights reserved.