Early Afternoon Update

We are watching the rain transition to snow across North-Central Alabama this afternoon as the much colder air spills into the state. A band of rain/snow mix is now working towards the Interstate 65 corridor and the Birmingham Metro. Within this band, there a numerous reports of bursts of heavy snow, but nothing more than that and certainly no accumulations at this time.

Expanding the radar out of Central Alabama, there are additional areas of snow across Mississippi and Tennessee that could rotate through the state and continue to provide periods of snow and snow showers as we head into the evening and overnight hours, but these will be very light in nature as the deep moisture axis shifts east of the state

At this time, the weather service is going to maintain the Winter Weather Advisory until 6AM Saturday morning, but will re-evaluate later this afternoon. In addition to the Winter Weather Advisory, there is a Wind Advisory in effect for all of Central Alabama until midnight. With a tight pressure gradient, winds are quite blustery this afternoon and are sustained in the 15-25mph range, with gusts over 30mph. These gusty winds could bring down some tree limbs.

Looking at the latest traffic maps, we are not seeing any reports of impacts on travel this afternoon, as temperatures remain above the freezing mark. Roads are in decent shape this afternoon and that should remain the case through the evening hours. Late this evening, into tonight, and first thing Saturday, is when a few slick spots are expected.

Click image to enlarge.

Current temperatures are in the 30s for most locations in West Alabama, while 40s persist over East Alabama. We are going to continue to see falling temperatures this afternoon and evening as those blustery northwest winds advect that much colder air into the state. It looks like most of us will stay above freezing until the evening hours.

After about 8PM is when there could be a few icy spots as the temps go below freezing. The main area of concerns will of course be this bridges and overpasses. Of course we urge everyone to use some extra caution the next 24 hours, until overall weather conditions improve. Stay safe and enjoy the pretty snowflakes!

Tags: ANC

Category: Alabama's Weather, Winter Weather