At 5 a.m., cold temperatures have Alabama in ther grip.
Readings across North and Central Alabama range from 25F at Vinemont, Crossville and Fort Payne to 32F at Birmingham, 33F at Tuscaloosa and Calera and 36F at Alexander City.
A quick check at 6 a.m. shows 25F an Vinemont, 25F at Huntsville, 30F at the Birmingham Airport, 31F at Anniston and 32F at Tuscaloosa.
Cloud cover from a disturbance passing across the state kept the mercury from falling as fast over Central sections, but those skies have cleared now. The radar is quiet after seeing some light snow showers during the late evening hours across parts of North Central Alabama. No accumulatoins were reported.
A few snow showers are showing up over the Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.
The models continue to be locked in on the extreme cold for tonight. The Model Output Statistics of the evening run of the GFS shows 19F at Birmingham tonight. The NAM shows 23F. So we still will be calling for a hard freeze tonight, with an average low of 24F across Central Alabama. Your actual reading will vary from 20F to 28F.
The complicating factors in tonight’s temperature forecast are winds and cloud cover. The winds should go light, unlike last night. The models do show some clouds moving across the area after midnight, but the damage will already be done by then, even if the clouds do materialize.
This is obviously a serious sitaution for agricultural interests and tender vegetation must be protected to preserve it. A freeze warning is in effect for tonight.
Readings Sunday night will be about like tonight, so a freeze watch is in effect.
The airmass over Alabama is very dry, and will get even a little drier today with northerly winds bringing in even more cold, dry air. This means that the fire danger over the state will be very high. A red flag warning is in effect for this afternoon. There should be no outdoor burning.
