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SNOW DAY: Multiple reports of light snow are now coming in over Northwest Alabama as our event begins. Watch the Weather Xtreme video for the full reasoning, but we see nothing to change our forecast for today. The best moisture will remain from I-20 (Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Anniston) south for about 60 to 70 miles, and that is where we are projecting potential of 1 to 2 inches of snow. To the north, moisture will be very limited and we continue to forecast a dusting to one inch over North Alabama (north of Birmingham). And, some snow is possible down into South Alabama later today. We note the National Weather Service in Mobile has now issued winter weather advisories for some of their inland counties.
WHEN? We still have very dry air near the surface, so initially some of the precipitation will evaporate before reaching the ground. Evaporation is a cooling process, so that will offset the daytime heating process to some degree. Most spots will see a high in the mid 30s today before temperatures fall later today. We could see a little sleet mixed in with the snow over North Alabama, and rain will be mixed with sleet and snow down south. But, everything will be snow by mid to late afternoon before the entire event is over. Bottom line is that the best chance of accumulating snow will come from about 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., although the light snow is in progress at this very early hour over Northwest Alabama.
TRAVEL: Although temperatures are below freezing this morning, we don’t expect any driving problems this morning. Slick spots will become a problem in the 2:00 to 5:00 time frame, and continuing tonight as temperatures drop below freezing and light snow continues. The good news is that this is a light snow event, and we don’t expect any freezing rain or major icing problems. The slick spots will come from snow on bridges, and some of the roads over higher terrain. We will well below freezing tomorrow morning, so slick spots will remain problematic through the morning hours on Friday. Evaporation will make for improving driving conditions during the day tomorrow.
Just keep in mind any moisture that happens to linger on the roads Friday and over the weekend will be ice since temperatures will remain below freezing all weekend. But again, most roads will be dry Friday afternoon and on into the weekend.
AIR TRAVEL: Some delays are possible at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, but major problems are not expected with just light snow.
SCHOOL CLOSINGS: You can see the closings on the ABC 33/40 web site here.
ARCTIC COLD: Very cold air invades Alabama tomorrow and over the weekend. Highs in the 20s tomorrow and Saturday with wind chill index values in the single digits. The low Saturday and Sunday morning will be determined by the amount of snow cover. No snow; lows in the 10 to 15 degree range. With snow, lows will be in the 5 to 10 degree range. One way or another this is pipe bursting cold that is a threat to humans with no adequate source of heat. Looks like we will rise into the mid 30s Sunday afternoon, and then a more pronounced warming trend begins Monday with a high back in the 40s.
VOODOO COUNTRY: Watch the Weather Xtreme video for details on the storm systems expected January 15 and January 21.
LIVE CHAT: We are now offering a real time chat here on the blog… open blog comments will stay in place, of course, but this will allow a more immediate method of communication for weather geeks. We do have moderators posted over there, so be sure and play nice. Members of our weather team will be there from time to time to answer questions; we will post those times we are available here on the blog.
We will have running updates on this event throughout the day… so stay tuned….
