The Midday Report — Cloudy & Some Mist for Now; Bitter Cold About 12-Hours Away

Skies across North/Central Alabama are socked in with cloud cover as we are making our run-up to the midday hour on this Thursday before Christmas. Under some of those clouds, a very light mist to drizzle could be falling in places. Temperatures are ranging from the mid 40s in the north to the lower to mid 50s in the south. Troy was the warm spot at 54º, while the cool spot were Albertville and Fort Payne at 45º. Birmingham was at 48º.

At this point, the cold front is stretching from the far eastern parts of Wisconsin, down through eastern Illinois and southeastern Missouri, then hooking back into northwestern Arkansas and eastern Texas. Milwaukee is currently at 27º, while just 151 miles to the west in Platteville, WI, it has already dropped to -1º. In West Memphis, the temperature is currently 45º, while in Siloam Springs, AR, it is down to 9º. This is the type of drastic temperature change we’ll see later tonight and through the overnight hours with this same cold front.

So, for the rest of the daylight hours, some light drizzle may continue in places with this cloud cover, but a few showers may enter the northwestern corner of the area by sunset. Afternoon highs should make it up into the 50s area wide. During the evening and late-night hours, showers will continue to move in and across the area, while temperatures will start to plummet. At midnight, temperatures look to range from the upper teens to the mid 50s from northwest to southeast. Winds will be gusting as high as 30 mph at this time, and this is when the wind chill will become an important factor. Also, a few flurries or a brief wintry mix will be possible, but due to the higher wind speeds, travel issues will be very limited. A few slick spots will be possible.

By sunrise on Friday morning, all the shower and flurry activity will be out of the area and skies will quickly clear out. Winds will continue to be elevated, keeping wind chills down into -10º to 10º range. Early morning lows will be in the upper single digits to the mid 20s across the area from northwest to southeast. Friday’s highs will only reach the upper teens to the lower 30s.

Christmas Eve will start off bitterly cold as well, with those early morning lows in the mid single digits to the mid-teens across the area. Unfortunately, much of the area will remain below freezing as highs will only reach the lower 20s to the lower 30s. If there is any bright spot, there will be plenty of sunshine. Wind will continue to be breezy at times.

Christmas Day looks to be a bright and sunny day across Central Alabama, as we can expect sunny skies. Most places will finally get above freezing as highs will reach the lower 30s to right around 40º across the area from north to south, but that is after a very cold start as lows will be in the lower to mid-teens.

Just remember, all counties in Central Alabama are under a Hard Freeze Warning from tonight through Sunday morning. A Wind Chill Warning is in effect from tonight through Sunday morning for all the Tennessee Valley area and for the following counties in Central Alabama: Blount, Cherokee, Etowah, Fayette, Jefferson, Lamar, Marion, St. Clair, Walker, and Winston. A Wind Chill Advisory is in effect from tonight through Sunday morning for the rest of Central Alabama, which is Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Greene, Hale, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, and Tuscaloosa counties.

Please take these warnings and advisories seriously. Hypothermia and frost bite is a serious concern, especially if you have to be outdoors at any point after midnight tonight through early Sunday. Winds will be breezy to gusty the entire time, bringing those wind chills down to around and below zero. Check on your neighbors, bring your pets and sensitive plants indoors, and cover those outdoor exposed pipes.

For next week, temperatures start to make a nice recovery as we remain dry through the end of the forecast period on Wednesday. Highs will be in the mid 30s to the mid 40s on Monday, lower 40s to the lower 50s on Tuesday, and throughout the 50s on Wednesday. And, just to throw this out there, models are trending that the New Year’s weekend will be mild as highs will be in the 60s to the lower 70s across the area.

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Winter Weather