Midday Nowcast: Increasing Clouds; End of Week Arctic Blast

Clouds are increasing today and this afternoon some areas of rain will be moving in from the southwest as a disturbance works along the Gulf Coast the next 24 hours. It is possible a few ice pellets could be mixed in with the rain as it initially falls this afternoon, but if that happens there will be no impact. The rain will continue tonight and into tomorrow and the most widespread rain will be over the southern half of the state. Highs today will be in the upper 40s for most locations, lows tonight in the upper 30s, and mid-40s are expected tomorrow.

MIDWEEK: Wednesday will be a dry day with a mix of sun and clouds; temperatures reach the mid 50s. Clouds return on Thursday, and some rain will develop during the day ahead of the Arctic front which will deliver bitterly cold Arctic air into Alabama and the Deep South this weekend.

ARCTIC BLAST: Thursday night into early Friday morning, an Arctic front will come screaming through the state. There is a chance rain could briefly change to sleet or snow before ending late Thursday night and early Friday morning. This is a “cold air chasing the moisture” setup, which rarely produces meaningful snow accumulation here. So, yes, we might see a few snow flakes over North Alabama, but with no accumulation.

The focus needs to be on the cold air. Temperature will fall all day Friday with many locations in the 20s much of the day. There will be a howling north wind of 25-35 mph causing those wind chills to drop into the -5 to -15 degree range Friday over the northern half of Alabama, with single digit wind chills down to the coast. This is going to be a dangerously cold event as much of North/Central Alabama will go around 75 consecutive hours with sub-freezing temperatures, from early Friday morning until late morning Monday December 26th.

It is not unheard of, but cold events like this are rare for Alabama, and we are likely going to see Hard Freeze Warnings by the end of the week. Make preparations now as this will be a very dangerous cold event and a serious threat to people with no adequate heating source. Check on the elderly. Be very, very careful with space heaters. Plan on bringing your pets indoors. Exposed pipes will need to be wrapped with insulation. Inside it is recommended you leave pipes running to prevent freezing and also, learn how to shut off water valves for potential pipe bursts. Always remember the 4Ps: People, Pets, Pipes, and Plants!!!

As far as Christmas weekend: Friday afternoon temperatures will be in the 20s. Our coldest morning will be Christmas Eve (Saturday) with lows across North/Central Alabama in the 7-13 degree range. Saturday afternoon we stay in the 20s. Christmas Day starts off in the teens and afternoon highs will only be in the low 30s. The only good news for the week, both Saturday and Sunday will feature a mainly sunny sky. Again, this is a true Arctic outbreak for most of the U.S. and for Alabama, this looks to be the coldest air for Alabama since January 2018, please prepared!!!

NEXT WEEK: The week looks generally dry with a warming trend with near normal values, 50s and 30s, which will feel like a heat wave compared to the weekend weather.

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 104.7F at Odienne, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The lowest observation was -58.7F at Selagoncy, Russia.

CONTIGUOUS TEMPERATURE EXTREMES: Over the last 24 hours, the highest observation was 83F at Ochopee, FL. The lowest observation was -31F at Northgate, ND.

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