Cold Front Nearing Northwest Alabama

BIG CHILL TOMORROW: A cold front will pass through Alabama tonight, bringing the coldest air so far this season to our state tomorrow. But today, the weather is comfortable with temperatures mostly in the low 70s this afternoon with a mostly cloudy sky. A few small, isolated showers are on radar over the central counties of the state; scattered showers remain possible over the next few hours, but the most widespread rain with the front will come after 10:00 tonight.

You might hear some thunder after midnight, but no severe weather is expected with hardly any surface based instability. Rain amounts of 1/2 to 1 inch are likely over the next 24 hours.

RAW DAY: Rain will slowly end from west to east during the day tomorrow. Most of the rain should be over by midday for places like Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, but the weather stays wet at times into the afternoon for the eastern side of the state. Otherwise, it will be cloudy, breezy, cold, and raw with temperatures hovering in the mid to upper 40s most of the day. The wind chill index is expected to remain between 38 and 42 degrees. It will be more like the middle of January. Keep in mind we should be in the low 70s in late October.

The sky will slowly clear Saturday night, and we drop into the mid 30s early Sunday. Winds will stay up during the night, so widespread frost is not expected, but some of the traditionally colder spots could drop to freezing. Sunday will be a sunny and cool day with a high in the 50s.

MONDAY MORNING FROST: The wind will be near calm early Monday, and with low dropping well down into the 30s (20s for colder spots), widespread frost is a good possibility. Some communities will see their first freeze of the year, but we will probably hold in the mid 30s in the cities (the urban heat island effect).

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school games across North/Central Alabama tonight, we will need to mention the risk of scattered showers over the western half of the state. Otherwise, stadiums east of I-65 should be dry with the bulk of the rain holding off until the late night hours. The sky will be cloudy with temperatures falling from the upper 60s at kickoff to near 60 by the final whistle.

The annual Magic City Classic (Alabama State vs Alabama A&M) kicks off tomorrow at 2:30 at Legion Field… it will be cloudy, breezy, and cold with temperatures hovering in the upper 40s during the game. The rain should end in Birmingham by mid to late morning.

UAB plays Southern Mississippi at Hattiesburg tomorrow (6:00p CT kickoff)… the weather will be breezy and cold with temperatures falling from 55 at kickoff, into the upper 40s by the fourth quarter. Rain over South Mississippi will end well before kickoff.

Jacksonville State will host Southeast Missouri State tomorrow (3:00p CT kickoff)… it looks like most of the rain will be over by kickoff, otherwise cloudy, breezy, and cold with some drizzle and temperatures in the upper 40s and wind chill index values close to 40 degrees.

NEXT WEEK: A warming process begins Monday afternoon with a high in the 60s; we rise into the low 70s by the pattern half of the week. Moisture returns Wednesday, and a few showers are possible Thursday and Friday, but nothing widespread or heavy. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.

TROPICS: A disturbance off the coast of Central America is expected to become a tropical depression, perhaps Tropical Storm Philippe over the weekend. No impact to Alabama.

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page. The Beach Forecast is partially underwritten by the support of Brett/Robinson Vacation Rentals in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Click here to see Brett/Robinson’s Hot Deals now!

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.

CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks…

Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Instagram
Pinterest
Snapchat: spannwx

I had a great time today visiting with the 6th grader at Opelika Middle School… be looking for them on the Pepsi KIDCAM today at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 News! My next Weather Xtreme video will be posted here by 7:00 a.m. Monday… Brian Peters will have the video updates tomorrow and Sunday. Enjoy the weekend!

Tags: ANC, cold

Category: Alabama's Weather, ALL POSTS, Weather Xtreme Videos