Evening Update – 6:30 p.m.

MAP ROOM:
The front continues to push slowly southeastward over East and South Alabama tonight. It has been hung up a bit by a weak surface wave located near Dadeville in Tallapoosa County. The front extends on southwestward to near Pensacola. By morning a surface low should be south of Atlanta and the front should be out of the state, near Tallahassee. In the upper levels of the atmosphere, a trough will be over the center of the nation with a strong little upper disturbance swinging through the Ohio Valley. A sprawling upper high will cover the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic off Florida. This high is acting as a big blocking feature. It will be flattening out over the next couple of days. As it does, our upper flow will be zonal, or west to east, meaning no real intrusions of cold or warm air. There is a big bowling ball off an upper low off the California coast, but it is a non-player in our weather for now.

CLOUDS/TEMPS
Temperature readings right now are in the lower 50s across Central Alabama. They will quickly fall into the 40s. Clouds have been slowly thinning over Alabama and Mississippi through the afternoon hours. This clearing will probably not be complete overnight, and skies will likely be partly cloudy when you wake up. The partial clearing and transport of cold air into the front on northerly winds behind the cold front will allow readings to fall into the lower 30s in many spots overnight with a freeze in some locations. Skies should clear out completely on Sunday, highs will only reach 50 degrees on average with some spots staying in the 40s all day. Look for a widespread freeze on Sunday night with lows in the lower and middle 20s.

PRECIPITATION
The showers are now out of Alabama for the most part, with the exception of a little light rain over East and far Southeast Alabama. It will all be gone shortly. The next chance of precipitation will come Wednesday afternoon, and even then it will be light and spotty.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS
The big winner from official reporting stations may have been Bankhead National Forest, where 5.41 inches fell. Other official state reporting stations include:

Category: Alabama's Weather