Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Birmingham, AL
Issued by NWS Birmingham, AL
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456 FXUS64 KBMX 251834 AFDBMX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 1234 PM CST Tue Nov 25 2025 ...New DISCUSSION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1210 PM CST TUE NOV 25 2025 - Periods of showers and thunderstorms are expected through tonight. There is a level 1 to 2 out of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms with hazards including isolated damaging winds, quarter size hail, and perhaps a couple of tornadoes. - Clear and colder conditions are forecast for Thanksgiving Day. && .DISCUSSION... (This evening through next Monday) Issued at 1230 PM CST TUE NOV 25 2025 Currently watching the effective warm front work quickly northward. Based on dewpoint it is currently north of Tuscaloosa and Alabaster, but just south of Birmingham. We have a southerly wind at the Shelby County Airport with dewpoint at 66 degrees. In just one hour we have gone from 61 to 66. Montgomery and Auburn are also at 66 degree dewpoint this hour. We are seeing some breaks in the clouds ahead of the line of storms is MS and along and south of the effective warm front. We are monitoring several weak circulations along the line and ahead so the potential remains for severe weather and low end chance of a few tornadoes until the line passes. Given the orientation of Jefferson county we included it in the tornado watch for the southern half of the area. Not sure if the effective warm front can pass all the way through the county before the line of showers and storms to our west work through. Otherwise timing of the system appears to be on track and will only make minor changes to the timing through tonight. Behind the front drier and cooler air will be in place. Will need to keep an eye on the afternoon dewpoints, with more information in the fire weather section on that. As the pattern becomes more progressive over the weekend, zonal 500 mb flow will induce southwesterly flow at 850 mb and low-level isentropic lift, leading to our next chance of rain late Saturday into Sunday and Monday. There are some concerns with the current trends of the blended guidance that needs to be mentioned of things to watch for. First the current blended model still has fairly high PoPs for the weekend into the first of next week. The problem with this is that the latest trends in the deterministic models show a drier but colder airmass in place. The blended models are showing the decrease in temperatures, so this places the forecast in an interesting position (slight to chance PoPs, with temperatures in the low to mid 30s). I would expect the trends of the deterministic models to continue with the cooler and drier scenario so the blended model guidance should catch up over the next few runs. For now lowered rain chances a touch and warmed temperatures a few degrees. The probabilistic guidance for any wintry precipitation remains low, so will just mention wet weather with only limited thunder during the afternoon timeframe. Quite a bit of uncertainty after Sunday through Monday and into next week. 16 Previous discussion: (Severe storms this afternoon and tonight) Issued at 938 AM CST TUE NOV 25 2025 Central Alabama is currently in the wake of the line of severe storms that produced widespread wind damage from Walker eastward to Cherokee County. This "first round" of storms was associated with a potent 75-80kt 500mb shortwave that is now lifting off to the northeast. Following the morning round of storms, the question now becomes what the environment will look like for the "second round" of storms expected to fire ahead of the approaching cold front to our west. Showers and storms are continuing to develop along the I-59 corridor at this hour thanks to the previous outflow boundary left over from this morning`s storms. The most recent WPC Mesoscale Precipitation Discussion analyzes the current surface setup very well: A strong low-level southerly jet is advecting tropical moisture northward and lifting parcels up and over the outflow boundary, developing the current activity due to the speed shear and synoptic lift aloft. Storms are moving across similar areas, so we`ll need to watch for the potential of localized flooding. Storm drains may also be clogged from recent falling leaves that could also lead to additional ponding of water on roadways. So the question really is what will happen to this old remnant boundary as we go into the afternoon. CAMs have had a tough time resolving the current mesoscale situation, as dewpoints remain in the upper 50s to lower 60s along the I-20 corridor due to the consistent shower and storm development holding the old "cold pool" in place at the surface. Looking to the south, however, upper 60s to lower 70s dewpoints are not far away across southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama. Surface wind gusts were observed between 15 and 20 knots in Greenville and Evergreen, along with gusts over 20 knots in Meridian, MS. So there`s no question that the low-level jet remains in place and will attempt to re-supply the tropical and unstable air that was lost due to the morning round of storms. Eventually, the low-level jet is still expected to overtake the old outflow boundary and cause dewpoints to rise into the mid to upper 60s by this afternoon along the I-20 corridor. Farther to the north along the U.S. 278 corridor, severe chances are much lower, as it will be a race against time before the front arrives from the west. With the best upper level forcing now exiting off to the north and east, we`ll need a good amount of destabilization at the surface to support severe updrafts. Visible satellite is showing some sunshine peeking through at times in our far southern and southwest counties, so we`ll need to watch observation trends closely. Surface winds have yet to start veering to the south and west, so supercell-type structures with rotating updrafts will definitely be possible as we go into the early afternoon hours, especially south of the I-20 corridor. The northern extent of the current severe outlook area will remain the biggest question mark as we watch to see if the old outflow can be overtaken by the low- level jet. 56/GDG && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1129 AM CST TUE NOV 25 2025 Showers and storms throughout the afternoon north and into the evening south. Ceilings are generally MVFR with a few pockets of IFR. Lots of reported LLWS associated with the convection itself so will not include in TAFS due to the convection. Winds remain gusty through the early evening along and ahead of the front. 16 && .FIRE WEATHER... A warm and moist airmass will persist ahead of a front through tonight with high rain chances. Behind the front, a drier airmass will surge into the region. Afternoon RH values are expected to fall to 25-35 percent for Thursday through Saturday. Winds will be near 10 mph with the potential for gusts around 20 mph from the south on Tuesday before shifting to the northwest on Wednesday and Thursday, but weaker. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 50 60 31 52 / 80 0 0 0 Anniston 52 62 32 52 / 90 0 0 0 Birmingham 53 60 34 52 / 70 0 0 0 Tuscaloosa 50 61 34 55 / 40 0 0 0 Calera 50 64 33 55 / 80 0 0 0 Auburn 57 67 36 55 / 90 0 0 0 Montgomery 56 66 35 56 / 90 0 0 0 Troy 56 68 35 56 / 90 0 0 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...16 AVIATION...16