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Severe storms expected Wed. afternoon

Submitted by J-P Dice, Fox 6 Chief Meteorologist
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012, 10:46am
Severe storms expected Wed. afternoon

We're preparing for our first round of severe storms today.  Thunderstorms will move into West Alabama by 2pm with the primary threat damaging winds.  I'm confident a squall line will form ahead of the cold front and move from west to east across the state.  The line of storms should cross the I-65 corridor by 4-6pm and then move into East Alabama after 7pm.

For areas north of the Tennessee River, there is a threat for tornadoes as well during the afternoon.  The threat should end by the the evening hours.  This is the Storm Prediction Centers risk probability map.  The tornado risk in the Fox 6 viewing area is between 2-5% with higher risks.  The 15% hatched area includes Florence, Decatur, and Huntsville.

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Happy Groundhog Day!

Submitted by Melynda Sides, Digital Content Producer
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012, 5:55pm
Happy Groundhog Day!

Both Birmingham Bill and Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted another six weeks of winter today, but it's a little hard to believe when it feels so much like spring outside. All the hype over a little hog's shadow led me to wonder a bit about the origin of Ground Hog Day and do a little online digging.

Apparently, the holiday was first referenced by name in America 1841 in the diary of a Pennsylvania man named James Morris. He wrote about the German tradition of a watching for a groundhog's shadow on Candlemas Day, Feb. 2, to determine the weather forecast for the next weeks of winter, according to an article on MentalFloss.com.

Records for Punxsutawney Phil's prediction of the weather date back to 1887 and show that he was correct about the weather only 39 percent of the time.

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Winter doldrums got you down? Here's how to bounce back

Submitted by MyFoxAL Web Staff on Monday, January 30th, 2:49 pm
Winter doldrums got you down? Here's how to bounce back

SATURDAY, Jan. 28 (HealthDay News) -- For some people a change in the seasons can trigger a loss of energy or even clinical depression, according to an expert who describes how to cope with seasonal affective disorder.

The condition is caused by changes in ambient light, said Dr. Dan Iosifescu, director of the Mount Sinai Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program in New York City.

"A gland in our brain provides a time signal, based on the amount of ambient light, to various parts of the body. Like a metronome, the gland responds to signals from light and uses those cues to orchestrate the day/night cycle," he said in a Mt. Sinai news release. "Ambient light helps our brain determine when our bodies need to be active mentally and physically and when our bodies need to rest. That cycle is thrown off when the days get shorter and darker."

Iosifescu offered the following tips to help people overcome the winter blues:

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Severe weather threat analysis for Thursday

Submitted by J-P Dice, Fox 6 Chief Meteorologist
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012, 6:49pm
Severe weather threat analysis for Thursday

Looks like we're in for more severe weather Thursday.  Let me stress this is NOT the same type of high impact system that hit us early Monday morning.  It's not even close, but we still need to watch it closely.  We'll see some rain spread into the state as early as tomorrow morning.  The additional cloud cover and rain will limit our instability.  The Storm Prediction Center has outlooked areas South of I-20 for a severe weather threat tomorrow.

Our Microcast computer model here at Fox 6 is indicating the best time for severe storms between noon and 5pm Thursday.  The model is indicating only marginal instability between 300-600 CAPE j/kg.  Helicity (our measurement of shear) will be high at between 300-400 m^2/s^2.  For viewers in Sumter, Hale, Greene, Perry, Bibb, and Chilton Counties - you will be in the "hot spot" for this system.

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Severe Weather Possible Today

Submitted by Wes Wyatt, Fox 6 Meteorologist
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012, 12:05pm
Severe Weather Possible Today

Its a cool, cloudy, and damp morning across the area but we are about to experience a rapid warm-up. Warm/moist air will be surging north ahead of an approaching cold front and this will bring temperatures in the upper 60s later today.

More rain will be arriving later today in the form of a southwest to northeast oriented line that will work across Alabama. The Storm Prediction Center has placed us under a slight risk for severe weather for the threat of possible severe storms, with the greatest window between 1 PM and 7 PM. Any severe storms that develop could bring winds over 58 mph and the threat of isolated tornadoes.

Mickey, J-P, and Myself will all be keeping a close eye on the radar for you throughout the day. If anything changes we will be sure to let you know. We’ve included the latest run of the High Resolution Rapid Refresh models. This short term model suggest the line of rain/storms will be working into West Alabama by 3 PM. Stay tuned!

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Cloudy, Mild, Shower

Submitted by Mickey Ferguson, Fox 6 Meteorologist
Monday, January 16th, 2012, 12:32pm
Cloudy, Mild, Shower

Mostly cloudy skies are in our forecast today along with a slight chance of a shower.  Temperatures look to be unseasonably mild with highs in the low 60s expected this afternoon.

Tonight look for increasing chances of shower activity with lows near 52-degrees.

Tuesday brings us our best chance of rainfall with this system as a cold front pushes our way.  Look for rain along with a slight chance of thunderstorms.

By Wednesday the front should be past our area and our skies are expected to clear through Thursday with cooler air in place too.

Friday, clouds should build back into our area with a chance of rain Friday night into Saturday and Sunday morning.

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UAB researchers say add a helmet to your tornado-preparation kit

Submitted by Melynda Sides, Digital Content Producer
Saturday, January 14th, 2012, 9:00am
UAB researchers say add a helmet to your tornado-preparation kit

From UAB Media Relations:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Helmets may prevent injury or death for those caught in a tornado, say researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Injury Control Research Center. In a commentary posted online on its website, the research team suggests that any kind of safety helmet, from hard hats to football helmets to bike helmets, are an essential addition to an individual’s tornado-safety preparations.

“Head injuries are a major cause of tornado-related deaths in the United States,” said Scott Crawford, MPH, a research assistant at the ICRC and the commentary’s lead author. “Alabama is the nationwide leader in tornado-related deaths with 412 fatalities recorded since 1980, demonstrating the need for a readily available, low-cost intervention to reduce risk.”

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