Alabama 811 | Know What's Below.

Still Cold

| February 20, 2015 @ 10:57 am

Temperatures remain below freezing across much of Alabama late this morning…

Temperatures (1)

The NWS Birmingham has extended the winter weather advisory for Central Alabama through tonight due to a slower recovery of surface temperatures.

Screen Shot 2015-02-20 at 10.51.18 AM

So wintry precipitation has been light and spotty across the state; but we are beginning to see an increase in activity on radar, especially west of I-65.

Screen Shot 2015-02-20 at 10.52.33 AM

There is some light snow accumulation up around Florence (photo from @sarahannemerson)

SarahAnnEmerson_2015-Feb-20

The concern is that the snow/sleet/graupel will begin to change over to freezing rain over the next few hours, which poses more of a travel impact. A special upper air sounding from the Shelby County Airport will give us additional information shortly on the state of the atmosphere above the surface (you can’t determine precipitation type by looking at a thermometer).

BOTTOM LINE: Isolated icy patches are possible across North and Central Alabama through the afternoon. In event we begin to see freezing rain, the road conditions will deteriorate more significantly. Still, this is nothing like January 28, 2014.

Here is an animated look at weather over the next 15 hours, via the HRRR model

hrrr_2015022015_ref_se

TONIGHT: The primary threat of ice accumulation tonight will shift north, and the concern will be Northeast Alabama where there could be enough ice for scattered power outages, especially north of Gadsden.

TOMORROW: It will be much warmer with occasional showers; ice issues will end over far Northeast Alabama early in the day. Birmingham could see a high close to 60 tomorrow, and a few thunderstorms are possible tomorrow night.

ALABAMA POWER IS READY, ARE YOU? Our friends at Alabama Power are monitoring the forecast closely, ready to deploy people and assets to quickly address any outages that might occur. Read a special message from Ike Piggot about their commitment to their customers.

Stay tuned for updates….

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Category: Alabama's Weather

About the Author ()

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.

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