Forecast on Track; Significant Travel Issues Expected Tuesday

The Arctic cold front is well into Northwest Alabama tonight. It is currently pushing through Marion, Lawrence and Limestone Counties.

Partially clear skies have allowed temperatures to fall quickly to near freezing across Central Alabama tonight. It is now 32F at the Birmingham Airport, 30F at Haleyville, 33F at Cullman, 31F at Anniston and 33F at Tuscaloosa.

The front should reach Tuscaloosa and Birmingham between 2 and 3 a.m. Temperatures behind the front will fall through the morning hours. Readings will be in the lower and middle 20s by late morning across the northwestern quarter of Alabama. Temperatures in the Birmingham area will hover near freezing until early afternoon, when the mercury will plummet as the Arctic air arrives.

Snow should reach the northwestern corner of Alabama around between 3-6 a.m. It should reach parts of Marion County between 5-8 a.m., reaching parts of Lamar, Fayette, Walker, Pickens, Winston and Cullman Counties between 6-10 a.m. It should reach the I-59 Corridor, including much of Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, Bibb, Shelby, St. Clair, Etowah, Talladega and Calhoun Counties between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and then on into Chilton and other counties to the south and east between 1-5 p.m.

The snow could last about 3-5 hours. It will be light, amounting only to about one inch, with some two-inch amounts. But the snow will melt on contact with roads and freeze with temperatures are in the 20s. This will give an icy base for additional snow to accumulate. This will produce significant travel impacts.

Get where you want to be for 24-48 hours before the snow starts. Icy temperatures will keep the snow around until Wednesday morning.

A winter weather advisory continues for the entire state except for the coastal zones and the Dothan area.

Scott Martin will be up at 3 a.m. and we will have continuous updates through the event.

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Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS