ABC 33/40 E-Forecast

ABC 33/40 E-FORECAST
Morning Edition For Wednesday April 4, 2007
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CONNECT 3 ON 3 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
APRIL 28 IN HOOVER

Connect 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament is coming to Hoover on
Saturday, April 28. This is a competitive tournament for guys and
girls ages middle school through adults. Games will be played on
the parking lot of Hunter Street Baptist Church, 2600 John Hawkins
Parkway in Hoover. Five eligible players will have a chance at the
$10,000 Hot Shot competition!

Players, invite family and friends to the Family Fun Zone, for games,
face painting, food, music and more!

Register today at

http://www.connect3on3.com/HunterStreet

Connect 3 on 3 is sponsored by Hunter Street Baptist Church,
WJOX 100.5 FM, Buffalo Rock, The Stewart Organization, ABC 33/40,
Bruce Business Products, The American Red Cross, Jason's Deli and
Princeton Hoover Medical.
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...A Sharp Change To Cooler Weather...

Blackberry winter is a mainly Southern term used to describe a brief
period of cold weather that coincides with the time the blackberries
are in bloom, usually in April or May. I guess our blackberry winter
will come over the Easter weekend as the gates to the Yukon will open
up in coming days. The first phase of the cool down will arrive today;
a strong northwest wind will usher in a much cooler airmass, and most
communities will fail to reach the 70 degree mark today despite the
return of sunshine. And, by daybreak tomorrow, we expect temperatures
to drop into the mid 30s as far south as Birmingham.

Another shot of colder air rolls in here tomorrow, and that will push
highs down into the cool 50s Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Mornings
will remain cold, with early morning readings in the low to mid 30s.
We still believe the best chance for a widespread freeze will come
early Easter Sunday morning. In our formal forecast we are using 31
for a forecast low early Sunday, but the colder valleys and protected
areas have a chance of reaching the mid 20s. Needless to say, you will
need to dress warmly if you are going to attend an outdoors Easter
sunrise service this year.

NEXT WEEK: A warming trend will begin early next week, and
temperatures should return to normal levels for early April by
mid-week. There is some suggestion of a chance of rain in the Tuesday
night/Wednesday time frame, but for now it does not look like a major
rain event, which is unfortunate since our rainfall deficit will be
over ten inches by then.

THIRTY YEARS AGO TODAY: An F5 tornado tore through the northern part
of Birmingham, and is usually called the "Smithfield Tornado"; named
after the area which received the greatest damage: Smithfield Estates.
The tornado began around 3 pm, 4 miles northwest of Birmingham near
U.S. Highway 78, and then traveled northeast for 15 miles at 60 mph,
crossing Interstate 65. At it's widest point, the tornado was 3/4 of a
mile wide. Over 150 homes were damaged with almost 50 completely
destroyed. A total of 22 people were killed with over 130 injured.
This one storm alone caused over $25 million in damage ($83 million in
today dollars). There were six other tornadoes on this day including
five F2 tornadoes and an F3 tornado across North and Central Alabama.
About that same time, Southern Airways Flight 242, a DC-9 jet with 82
people on board crash landed on Georgia Highway 381 in the small
northwest Georgia community of New Hope. A total of 63 passengers and
crew members died, along with 9 people on the ground as the plane
skidded along the highway. The aircraft, enroute from Huntsville to
Atlanta, ran into a severe thunderstorm near Rome, Georgia at about
17,000 feet. Power was lost in both engines after tremendous amounts
of hail and rain were ingested into the engines. The engines could not
be restarted after being severely damaged and the crew had to attempt
an emergency landing on the highway. (thanks to NWS and Bill Murray
for these notes).

James Spann
jspann@abc3340.com

ABC 33/40 7 Day Planner: http://abc3340.com/weather/7day.hrb
ABC 33/40 Weather Blog: http://www.alabamawx.com

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"Weekend to Remember" Marriage Conference Coming To Birmingham!

The annual "Weekend to Remember" conference sponsored by FamilyLife,
designed to strengthen and improve marriages, will be held in Birmingham
at the Marriott Hotel on Highway 280 on May 4 - 6

It's never too early or too late to make your marriage flourish.
Experience a weekend that will make a difference for a LIFETIME!
Whether you want to take your relationship to the next level or you are
hovering on the brink of disaster, God has a plan filled with hope and
purpose for a lifelong partnership. Don't miss out!

Regular registration is $119 per person. Use the Special Key Code
"Weather" to receive a $20/person discount! Also, the Marriott offers a
reduced rate of $101 per night for those who desire room accommodations.

The conference offers a money-back guarantee! For more information, call
800-FL-TODAY or go to http://www.familylife.com/conferences/marriage.asp
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TODAY
Windy and much cooler. Becoming mostly sunny.
Afternoon High 68
WIND: NW 12-22

THURSDAY
Sunny and cool.
Morning Low 36 Afternoon High 61
WIND: N 7-14

FRIDAY
A mix of sun and clouds. A cold morning.
Morning Low 34 Afternoon High 58
WIND: N 7-14

SATURDAY
Partly sunny. Unseasonably cool.
Morning Low 33 Afternoon High 56
WIND: N 5-10

SUNDAY
Mostly sunny with a morning freeze possible.
Morning Low 31 Afternoon High 58
WIND: NE 5-10

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Tonight on ABC 33/40:

7:00pm George Lopez
7:30pm George Lopez
8:00pm According To Jim
8:30pm In Case Of Emergency
9:00pm Lost
10:00pm ABC 33/40 News
10:35pm Nightline

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