Rain Friday Night/Saturday; Very Cold Sunday Through Next Week
PLEASANT WINTER DAY: Temperatures are in the 50s across most of Alabama this afternoon with a good supply of sunshine. Tonight will be mostly fair with a low in the 28-35 degree range.
Dry weather continues tomorrow and Friday, but clouds will increase Friday afternoon ahead of a cold front.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: An approaching cold front will bring a good rain event to the state Friday night into Saturday; rain amounts of 1-2 inches are likely. Then, after the rain, the coldest air so far this season rolls into the Deep South Sunday. Temperatures will hold in the low to mid 30s over the northern part of the state with an icy north wind; a few snow flurries are possible early in the day.
NEXT WEEK: Monday will be cold and dry; temperatures will stay below freezing all day over the northern half of the state; even Mobile will have a hard time reaching the 40 degree mark.
Global models and their ensemble members continue to show increasing potential for a southern U.S. winter storm sometime in the Tuesday/Wednesday time frame. We note the American model (the GFS) holds off on a winter storm until Friday, but that is an outlier.
We stress it is still way too early to know precipitation type and placement, accumulation potential, and travel and societal impact. Deterministic models will keep doing the hokey pokey, looking different on every run. You simply need to watch the probabilistic output from the ensembles, and the trend is clearly higher for some snow or ice for Alabama.
We will begin to have some clarity by Friday, and we can get specific concerning potential impact around Sunday. Just keep watching for updates.
But the one thing we can say with confidence is that next week will be very, very cold. Some North Alabama communities could remain below freezing from Sunday morning through Thursday… lows will be well down in the teens. Now is the time to prepare for 4-5 days of frigid weather. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.
ON THIS DATE IN 1967: The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10, in Super Bowl I at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. From the weather station at the USC campus in downtown LA, the high temperature was 79 degrees, and the low was 51. There was a light west wind.
ON THIS DATE IN 2024: A winter storm brought up to 8 inches of snow across the western half of the Tennessee Valley of North Alabama. Snow and ice covered roads made travel almost impossible for the northern third of the state.
Look for the next video briefing here by 6:00 a.m. tomorrow…
Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Weather Xtreme Videos
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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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