Precipitation Getting Close

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RIGHT NOW: Rain has changed to snow at Memphis; this report was just received from Randy Coleman…

“Snow began around noon time here and briefly changed back to drizzle before becoming all snow (moderate rate) around 130pm. As of 3pm, the ground has become white and vehicles are now covered and the snow continues at a steady clip. Official temp at Memphis Int’l (which is only about 1.5 miles west of my location) was 32 at 2:53pm with snow and fog. 1-2 inches is the forecast here. Many schools closed early (noon or 1pm) and some businesses are beginning to close as the temp drops and darkness approaches. It is not gonna be anything like last week but bad enough to cause some issues here tonight and perhaps early tomorrow.”

Here in Alabama… the leading edge of light rain will move into the northwest counties within the next 90 minutes.

TONIGHT: Light rain will change to light snow tonight, and 12Z guidance suggests our ongoing forecast is on track. Some communities over the Tennessee Valley could see 1/2 inch of snow in spots, but down this way nothing but a dusting (if that much) is expected along the I-20/59 corridor. All of the precipitation should be over by 2:00 a.m.

Models continue to show very light precipitation tonight; the NAM total is only showing 0.01″ for Birmingham, with the GFS showing nothing measurable. Bottom line is that tonight’s event should not be a big deal.

TOMORROW: Generally speaking, we are not expecting any serious travel issues tomorrow morning, but where there is standing water, it will be ice since temperatures will drop into the 20s by daybreak. The sky will be mostly sunny tomorrow with a high at or just over 40 with a chilly north wind.

OUR WEEKEND: We start the weekend with a very cold morning; the low Saturday morning will be in the low 20s, with upper teens for the colder spots. Look for lots of sunshine over the weekend, with a high in the mid 40s Saturday followed by low 50s Sunday.

MONDAY: Another close call with winter weather mischief. Some light rain will likely move across Alabama Monday… thermal values suggest there could be some snow or freezing rain for extreme north or northeast Alabama, but we are not confident enough at this point to mention it in the forecast. We will need to see a few more model runs before we try to be really specific.

REST OF NEXT WEEK: Dry air returns Tuesday, and the next Gulf wave will bring a chance of precipitation by Thursday. Yet another close call with wintry precipitation for North Alabama… see the Weather Xtreme video for details.

LONG RANGE: The pattern still looks cold and unsettled through early February. Voodoo fans will like the GFS snow event showing up February 3, but voodoo is voodoo. Watch the video for the details.

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I had a great time today with the 5th and 6th graders at East Elementary School in Cullman… be looking for them on the Pepsi KIDCAM today at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 News! The next Weather Xtreme video will be posted by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow…

Tags: rain, snow

Category: Alabama's Weather