Midday Nowcast: Almost Spring-Like

After the chilly start to the day, we are warming up nicely under a sky full of sunshine. Most locations this afternoon are seeing temperatures surge into the low 60s. Tonight will be generally clear and chilly with lows back in the 30s. Tomorrow will feature a mix of sun and clouds with highs in the mid 60s. Clouds will increase tomorrow night.

NORTH OF ALABAMA: A major winter storm will unfold this week from parts of North and West Texas to the Great Lakes. Snow amounts of 8-12 inches are possible across parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, and freezing rain and ice issues are possible as far south as Arkansas and West Tennessee. Winter Storm Watches are already being issued in these areas. Luckily this mess stays to our north of us, and we get all liquid in Alabama.

RAIN RETURNS: Wednesday will be a cloudy day with a high in the 60s; rain will likely move into the northern half of the state during the afternoon and evening hours. Also, a warm front will be lifting north through the state, increasing moisture levels.

RAIN/STORMS: Temperatures will warm to near 70° for much of North Central Alabama ahead of a strong cold front on Thursday. Most of the day looks dry with just a few scattered showers around, however, rain and thunderstorms will move in Thursday night into Friday morning. For now severe storms are not expected, but of course we will watch trends in the coming days. Rain amounts between Wednesday and Friday will be in the 2-3 inch range for much of the state, with some higher amounts across North Alabama, so we will have to watch for some isolated areas of flash flooding. The rain will end over North Alabama Friday morning, and will gradually taper off from northwest to southeast through the state on Friday. Friday will be colder as temperatures will be over 20 degrees colder, as highs are likely to hold in the 40s.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday looks like a mostly cloudy, cool day with a high in the upper 40s to low 50s. For now, we are forecasting more clouds and some isolated showers on Sunday as a wave of low pressure tracks along the Gulf Coast. The better rain chance will be over the southern half of Alabama. Sunday’s high will again be on either side of 50°.

NEXT WEEK: The temperatures next week look to remain below average. It also, looks like an active southwest flow aloft will be in place across the state. Monday looks dry, but some risk of rain will likely return during the mid-week period.

BEACH FORECAST CENTER: Get the latest weather and rip current forecasts for the beaches from Fort Morgan to Panama City on our Beach Forecast Center page. There, you can select the forecast of the region that you are interested in visiting.

WORLD TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation outside the U.S. was 110.7F at Vioolsdrif, South Africa. The lowest observation was -53.3F at Concordia, Antarctica.

CONTIGUOUS TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation was 83F at Mecca, CA. The lowest observation was -35F at Peter Sinks, UT.

WEATHER ON THIS DATE IN 1982: The barometric pressure at Norway, AK, reached 31.85 inches (1078.4 mb) establishing an all-time record for the North American Continent. The temperature at the time of the record was about 46 degrees below zero. Severe arctic cold began to invade the north central U.S. The temperature at Great Falls MT plunged 85 degrees in 36 hours. Valentine NE plummeted from a record high of 70 degrees to zero in just nine hours. Northwest winds gusted to 86 mph at Lander WY, and wind chill readings of 80 degrees below zero were reported in Montana. Sixty-four cities in the central U.S. reported record highs for the date as readings reached the 60s in Michigan and the 80s in Kansas.

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