Winter Storm Watch Issued

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TODAY: All will be quiet across Alabama today… just cold and dry with a high in the 42-45 degree range for most places… all of the attention is focused now on the energy moving through the Southwest U.S. that will bring potential for some snow to parts of Alabama late tomorrow and tomorrow night. Let’s go to a FAQ format today for the snow event… and I do encourage you to watch the Weather Xtreme video for all of the graphics that go along with this discussion.

WHEN? The RPM is trending faster with this event, suggesting some snow into extreme Northwest Alabama early tomorrow afternoon, with snow over much of the northern third of the state by 5:00 p.m. We will slowly adjust the timing up… I do think the snow could have an impact on afternoon traffic tomorrow over the northwest part of the state… Marion, Winston, Franklin, Lawrence, Colbert, and Lauderdale Counties. It could be a close call for the Birmingham metro as snow could begin as early as 5:00… but for now we will continue to mention the greatest chance of accumulating snow for Jefferson County after 6:00. The most significant snow will come from 6:00 tomorrow evening through 3:00 a.m. Thursday.

WHO? The NWS in Birmingham has issued a winter storm watch, that goes as far south as Sumter, Greene, Hale, Bibb, Shelby, Talladega, Clay, and Randolph Counties. I still strongly believe the best chance of seeing good accumulating snow will be along and north of a line from Millport to Birmingham to Anniston, with the heaviest amounts in the state near the Tennessee border. A dusting is possible as far south as Livingston, Clanton, and Roanoke.

HOW MUCH? This should be, generally speaking, a 1-2 inch snow for much of North Alabama north of I-20, with potential for 2-4 inches around Muscle Shoals and other areas near the Tennessee border.

IMPACT: This is a snow event, and not an ice event, so power outages won’t be a problem, but travel could be impacted in a big way where the snow accumulates. This will clearly impact Wednesday night church services over the northern third of Alabama, and where the snow gets down on the ground it will be a problem for Thursday morning’s commute as well. It is likely that some school systems will delay opening times, or perhaps even call off classes for the day, where the snow is heaviest.

MAP: As you look at the map below, remember, this is just a guideline. Snow doesn’t start and stop magically at those red lines… and like every winter weather event in Alabama, there will be surprises.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY: A few lingering snow flurries are possible early Thursday, but it sure looks like the main event will be over by 3:00 a.m. The sky becomes partly sunny during the day with a high around 40. The coldest morning will be early Friday… where snow is on the ground, the low will be in the mid to upper teens… where there is no snow, the low should be in the low 20s. Friday will be sunny with a high in the upper 40s.

WARMER WEEKEND: This cold shot won’t last long as we warm into the low 50s Saturday, followed by a high close to 60 Sunday. The air will be dry, and both days should feature a good supply of sunshine.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: No promises, understand, but I sure get the idea after this week the worst of the winter will be behind us. Sure, there will be cold snaps, and who knows, maybe some snow, but the pattern sure looks warmer, at least for the latter half of February. No complaints here.

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I have become about 80 percent functional today… so after a few days of being down with the “crud”, I am back on the road. I have a weather program this morning at Oxford Middle School… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 3:30 this afternoon. Enjoy the day!

Tags: snow

Category: Alabama's Weather