Cold Night Ahead; A Few Snow Flakes Wednesday?

**No afternoon video today; we are on a holiday schedule**

DRY: Most of Alabama is enjoying a sunny afternoon; the exception is the Tennessee Valley of North Alabama where clouds linger at midday. We have a big thermal contrast across the state… temperatures at noon range from 39 degrees at Huntsville to the 66 at Mobile. Tonight will be clear and cold with sub-freezing temperatures for most communities. Lows in the 20s are likely down to U.S. 80 (Demopolis to Selma to Montgomery to Opelika).

Dry weather continues tomorrow with ample sunshine; expect a high in the 47-60 degree range across Alabama from north to south.

WEDNESDAY: A weak surface low in the northern Gulf of Mexico will bring clouds and light rain to the Deep South. The best chance of rain across Alabama will be over the southern 2/3 of the state (Hamilton to Cullman to Gadsden and points south). Initially the air will be very dry, and evaporative cooling could drop temperatures into the 30s over North/Central Alabama. Some high resolution models even suggest the light rain could mix with a few snow flakes Wednesday afternoon or evening over the east and northeast counties of the state, but if that happens we don’t expect any accumulation or impact with temperatures above freezing.

Rain amounts on Wednesday will likely be under 1/2 inch with limited moisture. Some thunder is possible along the Gulf Coast, but there is no risk of severe storms with a cool, stable airmass in place.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Thursday will be a sunny day with upper 40s for North Alabama, and low to mid 50s to the south. The day Friday will be dry with a high in the 50s, but clouds will return Friday night with some rain possible.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: A dynamic weather system will bring a soaking rain to Alabama Saturday as the weekend begins. Rain amounts of 1-2 inches are likely; some thunder is possible but no severe storms are expected again due to the lack of surface based instability. Temperatures Saturday will hover in the 50-55 degree range during the day.

Then, dry air returns Sunday with a partly to mostly sunny sky. The high Sunday will be mostly in the 50s, right at seasonal averages for early January.

NEXT WEEK: The active pattern continues with potential for another soaker late Monday night into Tuesday (January 8-9), the latter half of the week looks dry for now. Temperatures will be near average through the week… See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.

ON THIS DATE IN 1964: Bear Bryant said that the only thing that could have messed up his eighth ranked Alabama team’s chances in the 1964 Sugar Bowl against 6th ranked Ole Miss in New Orleans would be a freak snowstorm. Well, much to his chagrin, it actually did snow the night before the January 1st game in the Crescent City. It snowed an amazing 4 1/2 inches. (Alabama won the game by a 12-7 margin.)

The “New Year’s Eve Snow” in the Deep South also dumped an incredible 19.2 inches at Muscle Shoals (still a record for the state of Alabama), 17.1 inches of snow on Huntsville. Much of Northwest Alabama was buried under 15-17 inches of snow. Roofs and awnings collapsed under the weight of the snow. The snow paralyzed much of the area for up to three days, closing schools and businesses. To the south, 15 inches of snow fell at Meridian, and over 10 inches at Bay. St. Louis MS. Mobile picked up two inches. Birmingham picked up 8.40 inches of snow, the fifth biggest snowstorm in the city’s history.

ON THIS DATE IN 2011: 2011: Southern and central Mississippi saw 11 tornadoes during the night of December 31st into the morning hours of January 1st. Of the 11, two were EF-3 with two more EF-2. Six were EF-1 with one EF-0.

Look for the next video briefing here by 6:00 a.m. tomorrow…

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