ABC 33/40 E-Forecast

ABC 33/40 E-FORECAST
Afternoon Edition For Friday January 2, 2009
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HOPE

Hope. It's something we all look for. Too often we think hope
is just a wish or a feeling. We've seen what can happen when
we put our hope-our trust-in the wrong place, people or things.

Christian hope is different. It is the confident, joyful expectation
that God is working for my good and his glory.

Do you know someone who needs hope, especially in these tough times?

Join others seeking "Hope" this Sunday at Hunter Street Baptist
Church in Hoover. Visit http://www.hunterstreet.org for service
times and directions.

Hunter Street is located at 2600 John Hawkins Parkway in Hoover,
just 3 miles west of the Riverchase Galleria. Phone 205.985.7295.
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...Wet Weather In Our Future...

This afternoon's forecast package comes to you from the road. Getting
a late start to New Orleans to attend the Sugar Bowl tonight and spend
a long weekend in the Big Easy. I am very excited about spending time
in Lakeview neighborhood tomorrow. I recently read the excellent
personal journal of Katrina survivor Hank Klimitas. He stayed in his
home at 6622 Orleans Avenue during the hurricane as the levee broke on
the 17th Street Canal and flooded the first floor of his home. He
stayed in the attic for the next seven days before being rescued. His
personal journal was published as a book.

WET WEATHER AHEAD: A band of showers moved through Central Alabama
this morning ahead of a weak cold front. Rainfall amounts were very
light. The front will stall or wash out over Central Alabama later
today and get ready to come back northeast as a warm front tomorrow.
The next player in our weather will be a low pressure system that will
swing out of Oklahoma and Kansas, accompanied by a significant
shortwave trough. This will spread showers and storms back into
Alabama late Saturday afternoon and Saturday night. There could be
severe weather over Southwest Alabama, but I don't think we will see
any in Central Alabama. Sunday will see a cold front coming through
and we should see cloudy skies with a few leftover showers. But the
parade of weather systems will not be over. A very strong upper
trough will be swinging out of the southwestern states by Sunday and
this will generate a low pressure system in the western Gulf. This
low will track along the old front, and spread rain and storms back
into Alabama. This system could be dynamic enough to produce severe
weather in Alabama Tuesday. The SPC is already outlooking Alabama and
parts of the Deep South for the potential for severe weather.

CHANGE TO COLDER: There are indications that a screaming trough will
set up from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley south into Dixie on
Wednesday. This will allow all that cold air up in Canada to pour
southward and we will enter a very cold phase for Wednesday and
Thursday. The main rain and storms will move out late on Tuesday, but
there could be a spoke of moisture and energy rotating through late
Tuesday night that could produce a light wintry mix. The models hint
at that possibility again Wednesday night Another shot of cold air
arrives for the weekend, and there are signs that wintry
precipitation could develop somewhere in the Southeast. It is a
pattern that will bear watching as we move through the week ahead.

METEOR SHOWERS: Saw a beautiful meteorite last night driving from
Gadsden to Birmingham. It was likely part of the annual Quadrantid
meteor shower. It will peak early Saturday morning. The Earth will
enter a stream of debris from shattered comet 2003 EH1. Hopefully,
clouds will part enough for some views across Central Alabama, but I
kind of doubt it.

ON THIS DATE IN 1949: Seven weeks of blizzards began striking the
American Great Plains almost without letup. Temperatures plummeted to
as lows as -50 degrees F. The first blizzard dumped forty one inches
of snow on Chadron, NE. The death toll reached 200, but the loss of
livestock was unbelievable with 150,000 sheep and cattle perishing
during the storms. Operation Haylift was a military operation
undertaken to rescue passengers from over fifty stranded passenger
trains and drop food and supplies to snowbound ranchers.

Bill Murray
bill.murray@theweathercompany.com

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

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UAB-Memphis Basketball
UAB Group Tickets Are Now On Sale!!!

Make plans now to see one of the most anticipated college basketball
games of the year. On February 26, the UAB Blazers take on the
Memphis Tigers, last year's runner-up in the NCAA Tournament.

Those who serve as group leaders of purchases of 25 tickets or more to
any of UAB's home games will also receive two upper level tickets
(a $30 value) to a game of your choice (other than Memphis).
Call (205) 996-5219 for more information. Go Blazers!
=========================================================

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TONIGHT
Mostly cloudy with a few showers.
Morning Low 41
WIND: S 6-12

SATURDAY
Rain and storms move in from the west, becoming likely overnight.
Morning Low 54 Afternoon High 72
WIND: S 7-14

SUNDAY
Rain ending with a chance of a few showers. Turning colder from the
northwest.
Morning Low 61 Afternoon High 68
WIND: SW/W 6-14

MONDAY
Mostly cloudy with a chance of a shower. Rain and possible storms
becoming likely by evening, continuing overnight.
Morning Low 45 Afternoon High 55
WIND: SE/NE 6-18

TUESDAY
Rain and thunderstorms ending during afternoon. Some could be
severe. Turning colder. Snow flurries overnight?
Morning Low 52 Afternoon High 65
WIND: W/NW 8-18

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Tonight on ABC 33/40:

6:00pm ABC3340 News
6:30pm Wheel of Fortune
7:00pm Wife Swap
7:30pm Supernanny
8:00pm Beyond the Call
10:00pm ABC3340 News
10:35pm Nightline

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