Snow Flakes To Start The Weekend

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Odds are pretty good that a good bit of Alabama will see snow flakes late Friday night and early Saturday morning, on the back side of a departing storm system. The big question, of course, is “how many snow flakes”?

TONIGHT/TOMORROW: After a cold night (we will be back down in the low to mid 30s early tomorrow), we will really warm up tomorrow, with a high in the upper 60s along with a partly sunny sky. Clouds will increase tomorrow night, and rain should move in by daybreak Friday.

FRIDAY/SATURDAY: The models have trend farther to the north with the primary surface low, which means the main axis of heavier snow will come from roughly Little Rock and Memphis up to Buffalo. Some folks up in that region will see five inches of snow or more. A really nice March snow event.

Here in our state, we will forecast periods of rain on Friday. I will need to bump temperatures up a bit; looks like we will be in the 50s on Friday as the rain falls. The NAM is printing 0.59″ with this event, and that looks pretty good to me.

WHAT ABOUT SNOW: Critical thickness values will drop late Friday night as the surface low pulls to the northeast, and the rain should change to light snow over much of Alabama after midnight. The GFS is hinting that a few flurries might even be seen as far south as Monroeville and Greenville down in South Alabama.

I still think the best chance of accumulating snow will be over Northeast Alabama, especially over Madison, Marshall, DeKalb, and Jackson counties, where one to two inches is possible. There could be some 1/2 inch amounts over Etowah and Cherokee counties, with a dusting as far south as Birmingham and Anniston. Most of the snow will fall from about midnight Friday night through 8:00 a.m. Saturday.

At this point I don’t expect any travel issues for the I-20 corridor, but a few slick spots on bridges will be possible for elevations above 1,000 feet over Northeast Alabama.

And, remember, March snow events can be very tricky. We will be watching for the position of the surface low, and the coldest air aloft.

REST OF THE WEEKEND: The snow should end Saturday morning, but the day will be cold and blustery. We will have a hard time getting out of the 30s with an icy northwest wind. Not exactly a great day for a baseball practice, you know. Sunday will be much more comfortable with a high near 60 after a cold morning. Sunday will feature a good supply of sunshine.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND: Looks like a chance of strong to severe thunderstorms returning to Alabama around Thursday of next week, March 13. Then, active weather continues for the rest of the month, and trying to identify and time specific waves beyond seven days is almost impossible to do in this pattern.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 30 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40. You can even listen here on the blog; look for the player on the top left. An all new episode is up and ready today.

I had a great time today seeing the kids at Trinity Methodist School in Homewood… be looking for them on the KIDCAM today at 5:00 on ABC 33/40 News… look for the next Weather Xtreme video here by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow!

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