HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A warmer afternoon across the Tennessee Valley than what was forecast. With a fair amount of sunshine and the rain really holding off until mid-afternoon, temperatures were able to climb into the mid and upper 50s. The reason we thought it would be cooler was that we thought the rain would move in earlier. All indications led that direction, but the dry air won most of the day.
Rain will however, continue to build into the Tennessee Valley overnight and early Friday morning. A wise suggestion would be to take an umbrella to work. You will not need it in the afternoon. Rain leaves by the lunch hour and the rest of the afternoon will be characterized by a mostly cloudy sky. Rain totals for many will be right around 1.0 inch with locally slightly higher totals.
On the short scale we could use the rain. Many of us are below average as far as a 30-day normal is concerned. This hasn't affected any of us just yet. The only areas of even mild concern are far NW Lauderdale County in Alabama, and far NW Giles County in Southern Middle Tennessee. There they are sitting in the abnormally dry category on the drought monitor.
Climate Prediction Center puts us at about a 40% chance of below average precipitation through mid-December.
On the year scale, we do not need more rain. Huntsville International and Muscle Shoals airport have seen well more than an average yearly precipitation total.