Archive for January, 2010
Clearing Skies
January 31st, 2010 | 
Author: 
Anniston, AL Tower Cam
Posted in 
Cool Tonight….Big Storm Brewing
Our next big weather maker gets going later tomorrow into Wednesday across the southern plains where winter storm watches have been required for the Amarillo, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa metro areas. Significant ice and snow accumulations are expected as a surface low develops across South Central Texas and tracks eastward through the Lower Mississippi Valley region. This will increase our chances at rain and some thunderstorms on Thursday/Friday.
Currently….the highest chances of any wintery precipitation would come on Friday and would be in the extreme northern sections of the state. Areas like the Shoals and Monte Sano could experience some ice or snow toward the end of the event, but it doesn’t look like it will be a big deal. Temperatures will plummet into the 30′s on Friday behind the front and remain that way through the weekend. A pretty hard freeze is likely on Sunday morning as the winds will begin to die down and we will radiate out.
Stay tuned for more information as we are looking into heading toward Tennessee for this event to do some field work. Again, for Alabama this currently looks like an all rain event.
Sylacauga, Alabama area Flooding
Flooding in and around the Sylacauga, Alabama area. Heavy rainfall coupled with poor drainage allowed for some flooding across much of the city today. This video was captured in HD….but rendered to .flv for YouTube. We will be working on getting better quality videos uploaded in the future. The HD version of this video can be seen on The Weather Channel.
Severe T-Storm Warning…Greene & Sumter Counties
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
247 AM CST SUN JAN 24 2010
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR…
GREENE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…
THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF EUTAW…
NORTHERN SUMTER COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…
THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF…YORK…LIVINGSTON…CUBA…
* UNTIL 330 AM CST
* AT 247 AM CST…THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETECTED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING QUARTER SIZE HAIL…AND DAMAGING
WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR YORK
..AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.
* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR…
BOYD…6 MILES NORTHWEST OF LIVINGSTON AND 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF WEST ALABAMA BY 255 AM CST…
6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF EMELLE BY 300 AM CST…
EPES BY 305 AM CST…
GAINESVILLE BY 310 AM CST…
WEST GREENE AND 6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NEW WEST GREENE BY 320 AM
CST…
UNION AND 6 MILES SOUTH OF MANTUA BY 330 AM CST…
THIS INCLUDES…
INTERSTATE 20 EXIT NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 52
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH…PREPARE
IMMEDIATELY FOR DAMAGING WINDS…DESTRUCTIVE HAIL…AND DEADLY CLOUD
TO GROUND LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER…
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
&&
TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER…
CALL 1-800-856-0758.
Huntsville Tornado 1/21/2010 from WAAY TV
This tornado wash shown live on WAAY-31….our Huntsville partner station. Brad Huffines and crew did a wonderful job.
1/21/2010 Severe Event Recap
I know many of you that dialed up the stream yesterday are wondering what happened or why it wasn’t up and online….so I guess I will post the explanation here. After apparently making what was a near spot on forecast and a decision to stop in Athens on I-65 yesterday….I was convinced to pack it up and come home early because several forecasters in the Huntsville area continued to “downplay” the event. I even went as far as the argue with a couple of them. Anyway, needless to say after staying there for several hours I gave up on my target area and decided to come home around the 3 o’clock hour. Wouldn’t you know it….when I turn south some 45 minutes later convection explodes right in the expected tornado event area.
After driving home and expecting most of the storms to be north….I was wrong again. A supercell thunderstorm began to form in southwest Talladega County….just southwest of my house….and I got in on some hail action just after dark. I was able to take some photos of the tremendous updraft forming west of Sylacauga.
The top two images are of the developing tower to the west….the third image is the moon out ahead of the anvil….and in the final image you can see the pink “roll” clouds way up in the atmosphere. The is indicative of very strong winds in the upper levels. These winds allow these storms to vent and become supercells. This storm didn’t go tornadic in Talladega County, but it did once it moved into Clay, Randolph, and Cleburne Counties. Again….we live and we learn and next time I will stick to my guns. At least the forecast panned out. 
When we did stream yesterday….we tried something new with an in car camera giving you a view of what it was like in the chase vehicle. We may try running several more cams that we can switch through in the future. Give us your thoughts in the comment section and we will take them into account!
Tornado Warning; Clay, Randolph, Cleburne Counties
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
633 PM CST THU JAN 21 2010
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR…
NORTHEASTERN CLAY COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA…
SOUTHEASTERN CLEBURNE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA…
NORTHERN RANDOLPH COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA…
* UNTIL 715 PM CST
* AT 632 PM CST…THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETECTED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR FOSTERS CROSS
ROADS…MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. A SECOND STORM TO THE WEST MAY
MOVE INTO THE SAME AREA.
* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR…
MORRISON CROSS ROADS BY 640 PM CST…
RANBURNE BY 700 PM CST…
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE…SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES…EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE…LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
Possible tornado east of Huntsville
Source: WAFF
Huntsville Police Department reporting power lines down. Area storm spotters reporting trees down, power flashes.
@ 5:34PM CST HPD reporting confirmed tornado
SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
531 PM CST THU JAN 21 2010
ALC071-089-220000-
/O.CON.KHUN.TO.W.0001.000000T0000Z-100122T0000Z/
MADISON AL-JACKSON AL-
531 PM CST THU JAN 21 2010
…A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 PM CST FOR WEST
CENTRAL JACKSON AND CENTRAL MADISON COUNTIES…
AT 530 PM CST…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND STORM
SPOTTERS WERE TRACKING A TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR
HUNTSVILLE…MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.
OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO MOORES
MILL…BROWNSBORO…MAYSVILLE…DEPOSIT AND NEW MARKET.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
TORNADOES AT NIGHT ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU
SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO…IT MAY BE TOO LATE. TAKE COVER NOW.
Today’s Chase: North Alabama
We plan to deploy by 9AM toward the north. Our live streaming video and chat will be available as always HERE! Keep in mind….these storms likely won’t be widespread, but in areas they do form they will pack a serious punch. Stay tuned….we will be updating throughout the day with photos and reports if anything breaking occurs.
Dangerous Weather to the West….How About Us…
Tonight….if the moisture return is greater than expected with the intensifying low level jet….severe weather will become more likely with tornadoes being quite a possibility. The greatest threat of this happening currently appears to be west of a Double Springs to Centreville to Greenville line. These areas could see some weather warnings during the late overnight with damaging winds, hail, and an isolated twister being possible. Further east…..heavy rainfall due to isentrophic lift will continue….especially across southeastern counties.
The severe threat tomorrow really hinges on how much moisture can get into the area. I believe that if *ANY* storms develop they will certainly have the potential for some extremely large hail…..golfball to baseball in size. The cold upper level temperatures will lead to this very unstable environment that will create the hail if any storms are able to form. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out….especially if a little more surface convergence is present than currently forecast.
We must keep in mind that the event today was forecast, but not quite to the extent that it’s showing to our west. The Storm Prediction Center has raised to a threat of damaging night time tornadoes from Shreveport to Jackson. We will need to monitor this front/moisture axis closely tonight because it will have implications of our weather if it does surge northward. Stay tuned…
