By Blake Deshazo

The Selma Times-Journal

Selma and Dallas County have had their fair share of rain over the last two weeks, and even more rain is in the forecast for this weekend.

“We’re going to have scattered showers for much of the day [Saturday] and into Sunday morning,” said meteorologist Matt Anderson with the National Weather Service.

In the month of December, Selma and the surrounding areas received nearly 5 inches of rain. The National Weather Service in Birmingham expected that much rain for December, but it all came at the end of the month.

“Rainfall for December was around the exact average expected for the month,” Anderson said. “But almost all of that fell within the last two weeks of the month.”

“This is just the typical pattern for this time of the year,” Anderson said. “These systems come through the southeast and bring persistent rainfall producers.”

The line of storms in the forecast is expected to bring between one and two inches of rain to Selma and the surrounding areas as well as the threat of thunderstorms.

“There is a potential that some (thunderstorms) could be strong to potentially severe,” Anderson said. “We are watching things over the next 24 hours to see which direction those come from. It is a rather marginal event, and they might not make it as far as Selma.”

While the large amount of rain may seem like bad thing, it has helped relieve much of the state from drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor.

“(The amount of rain) is a good thing,” Anderson said.

“It should be beneficial rain, and it should move out of here pretty quickly. We’re not looking at any bad or negative impact from rainfall this weekend.”

Weekend temperatures will be around 70 degrees.

“For the weekend temperatures are going to go up ahead of the cold front and squall line that is coming through,” Anderson said. “Temperatures (Saturday) afternoon will reach up into around 70 degrees or so warming up quite a bit ahead of this cold front.”

But that warm weather isn’t expected to last. As the rain clears out, temperatures are expected to make a drastic drop, with overnight lows falling down into the mid-teens by the middle of the week.

“Some of our models are suggesting temperatures in the teens during the early and middle part of next week,” Anderson said. “It looks like it should be rather short lived though with temperatures pushing back up to near average by maybe next weekend.”