Atlanta Weather | 6:45 Radar Update

Submitted by Mike Francis, Chief Meteorologist

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012, 6:37pm

The storms that fired up just north of the metro area earlier that dropped some small hail in Buckhead and Decatur is moving SE at around 25mph... There are still some pockets of small hail in this storm as it heads towards Rockdale county. Nothing is severe.

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Atlanta Weather | Here Come the 80's!!

Submitted by Mike Francis, Chief Meteorologist

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012, 3:53pm

Well, we thought it was warm this winter just wait for this week as we are going to be heading into the 80's big time!! Seriously, we are going to be a good 15 degrees above the normal all week long!

Short Term

The gorgeous weather we have had in place all day will remain tonight as well. There will be a stray shower or two mainly south of the metro area through the evening hours, then skies will go to mostly cloudy. Temps this evening will remain in the lower 70's through around 8pm then slowly fall off into the upper 50's overnight. Tomorrow morning will start mostly cloudy with temps in the upper 50's with a light breeze from the SW.

Mid Range

Very warm air at around 5000 feet above the ground. The freezing line is all the way up into Canada!!

We have a strong SW jet stream flow over the eastern third of the US

Rain chances are around 20% every day this week

The above normal temps will last through the next 6-10 days.

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More Tornadoes

Submitted by Chesley McNeil, Meteorologist

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012, 12:58pm

So many questions have come into the Weather Information Zone, about this being such a warm winter season, does that mean a increase in tornadic activity?
Everyone has a eye on the sky these days, waiting for the next storm to come. But not only in Atlanta, warm air has been dominate in many spots this year and it is fueling many questions about what the next season will bring.

“This year conditions are more conducive than normal for extreme weather,” says Joe Lundberg, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com in State College, Pa. “We are getting off to an early and nasty start.”

Although one season is not a good predictor for another, most meteorologist agree that the abnormally warm weather will persist through March and possibly into the beginning of April before the temperatures start to get closer to normal. Speaking of normal, in a normal season there would be roughly 1300 reported.

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Scattered Showers and Warm Temps

Submitted by Chesley McNeil, Meteorologist

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012, 6:33am

High pressure off the east coast along with the leftovers of a cold approaching the area is keeping us in a southerly flow. As a result, a few scattered and isolated showers will continue through early evening. And look for temps to be well above the average (Normal high this time of year is 64 degrees). Highs today will be in the low 70s.

The remnants of the cold front should move through our area today and settle south taking the chance of showers with it, so Wednesday should be a little drier. Temperatures will remain warm, with highs close to 80.

Long Term

We will be in a summer like pattern over the next few days. Temperatures Thursday to Sunday will be near 80, and we will see a 20 to 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms during the afternoons.

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Flirting with 80 degree temps this week

Submitted by Chris Holcomb, 11Alive Meteorologist

Monday, March 12th, 2012, 10:47pm

We've been talking a lot about the rain showers with us tonight. But don't ignore the very warm air that is coming in this week. Monday, we made it up to 66 degrees. That is just a couple of degrees above the average for this time of year. It will be even warmer Tuesday. Temps will move up to 74. It keeps getting warmer this week. We will be near 80 on Wednesday. We expect to make it to 80 degrees on Thursday. The above average temperatures will continue for the rest of the week as they settle back into the 70s.

It looks like the really warm air will be here beyond our 7 day forecast. Check out the 6-10 day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center. It shows the eastern 2/3 of the country experiencing above average temps for the period. We are in the orange shaded color. So has spring sprung?

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Tracking Rain | WEATHER BLOG

Submitted by Chris Holcomb, 11Alive Meteorologist

Monday, March 12th, 2012, 5:50pm

We are tracking the rain that is moving through the area tonight. It is mainly light rain. We have had a few areas of moderate rain embedded within this line. There will continue to be a few off and on showers with us overnight. It will be wet for the drive in to work and school on Tuesday.

We still aren't expecting any severe weather with these showers. Check out the updated webcast for a graphical look at what to expect.

Are you ready for temps in the 80s? It's just a couple of days away!

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Light Showers Moving In

Submitted by Chris Holcomb, 11Alive Meteorologist

Monday, March 12th, 2012, 4:20pm

We are watching some light showers that are moving through northwest and west Georgia late this afternoon. They are moving closer to Atlanta. These showers are mainly light. There will be an occasional moderate shower embedded in this swath of moisture that is moving in. Don't be surprised if you hear a rumble of thunder or see a flash of lightning. Those chances are slim, though. We also aren't going to have any severe thunderstorms move in. The risk for severe storms will be in the Great Lakes region.

Notice that the map has Georgia included in the green shading. That is the area for "general" thundershowers. It also says "see text." Here is the text that the Storm Prediction Center is referencing: (please forgive the all-caps. That's how the SPC does it!)

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