Saturday Evening Look At Tuesday Snow Potential
An Arctic cold front will pass through Alabama early Tuesday morning, and along with it comes a chance of snow, which will bring potential for travel impact and schedule disruptions. Here is a Saturday evening update.
TIMING: Precipitation will initially begin as light rain late Monday night and during the pre-dawn hours Tuesday. There will be a quick change to snow as cold air rushes into the state. The main window for snow in Alabama will come from 3:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon.
AMOUNTS: With a northwest flow system like this, precipitation amounts are generally light; this is not a Gulf of Mexico winter storm. The Tennessee Valley of North Alabama is expected to see 1.5″ to 2.5″, while amounts around .5″ to 1.5″ are likely down to I-20. There will be little accumulation, if any, over the southern half of the state.
BOOM: There is always uncertainty involving any winter weather event in Alabama. We prefer to give a range of snow possibilities; the “boom” potential, on the high end, is 4 inches across parts of North Alabama. Unlikely, but not impossible.
BUST: On the low end, there is a chance we have nothing more than flurries and no accumulation or impact.
TRAVEL: With temperatures expected to fall into the sub-freezing zone during the day, icy travel is expected. Initially on bridges, and then potentially on all road surfaces. The key is the depth of the cold air. If we drop into the mid 20s by mid to late afternoon as some models suggest, there is potential for a “flash freeze” with melted snow and some very serious travel issues. But, if we only drop into the low 30s, most black top roads will be just wet with ice mainly on bridges. But for now understand bridge/road conditions will most likely deteriorate during the day Tuesday, and icy travel will remain possible Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Temperatures should drop into the 18-24 degree range early Wednesday.
We will have a much better grasp on the degree of the temperature drop as we get closer to the event.
Keep an eye on the blog for forecast updates over the weekend.
Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Winter Weather
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James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.Subscribe
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