Cold/Wet Today; Some Snow Tonight For Far North Alabama
COLD, WET WEATHER: Rain has moved into West Alabama early this morning, and today will be a cloudy and wet day for Alabama with periods of rain along with temperatures holding in the 40s. Rain amounts of around 1/2 inch are likely during the next 18 hours.
A cold core upper low will bring dynamic cooling tonight, and the potential for some snow over far North Alabama. The best chance of seeing snow will be north of U.S. 278 (north of a line from Hamilton to Cullman to Gadsden), and some light accumulation is possible over the Tennessee Valley on grassy areas. While a few slick spots could develop, for now no major impact is expected since the ground is relatively warm, and temperatures should be generally above freezing as the precipitation falls tonight.
Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy and cold with some risk of drizzle or snow flurries; the high will be in the 40-45 degree range for most places, but the Tennessee Valley won’t get out of the 30s.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Dry, cold weather is the story Saturday and Sunday. Partly sunny days, fair nights, highs between 45 and 50, and lows in the mid to upper 20s. Clouds will increase Sunday night.
MONDAY: The active winter weather pattern continues, and the next system will bring precipitation to the state after midnight Sunday night and into Monday. As expected, model agreement is much better now that the system is in the U.S. upper air network. At the onset of the event, some sleet or snow is possible over parts of North and West Alabama, but models suggest most of the precipitation in Alabama during the day Monday will fall in the form of rain.
Then, there is a chance of some change to snow on the back side of the system Monday night over parts of North Alabama, but it is still too early for a specific forecast in terms of impact. The highest probability of winter weather issues from ensemble data is over the northwest corner of the state, but that could change. Once we get today’s system out of here we will be able to focus on the next one coming in here Monday.
REST OF NEXT WEEK: The rest of next week looks dry with a slow warming trend; an upper trough could bring some scattered light rain on Thursday, however. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.
ON THIS DATE IN 1988: A low pressure system developed over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and moved across the northern Gulf over the next few days. Moisture spread over a shallow cold air mass bringing an historic winter storm to North Alabama. Huntsville’s total of 9.6″ inches of snow was the second-highest snowfall on record at the time.
ON THIS DATE IN 1989: Empty foundations are all that remain of four homes on the southwest end of Allendale, Illinois, after an F4 tornado ripped through. The tornado was extremely rare due to its strength and the fact that it occurred so far north during the middle of meteorological winter.
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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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