WARMING TREND TODAY; RAIN LIKELY THURSDAY & FRIDAY… Slightly warmer temperatures are ahead for south Alabama and northwest Florida this afternoon as high temperatures make a run at the lower-60s under mostly sunny skies. We finally saw a good bit of sunshine across the region on Tuesday, which allowed temperatures to surge into the 50s. That warming trend will continue today into tomorrow. Highs on Thursday will be in the upper-60s and near 70° by Friday. We’ve got two distinct rounds of rain ahead before the coldest air of the season moves in Sunday into Monday. Let’s talk forecast details…
NO ISSUES THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING… No significant weather issues are expected across the region on this Wednesday. High temperatures will peak in the low-60s with plenty of sunshine throughout the day. The evening hours will feature clear skies with temperatures in the 50s and upper-40s. Overnight lows on Thursday morning will be in the upper-30s.
RAIN CHANCES INCREASE THURSDAY & FRIDAY… Isolated rain showers will become possible as early as Thursday afternoon as an area of low pressure approaches from the west. Rain coverage will progressively increase Thursday evening, although I expect the showers to be scattered in nature through Friday. The daytime hours of Friday will likely be mostly cloudy with scattered showers at times. Temperatures on Friday will be significantly more mild, peaking near 70° in most spots locally due to the return of a southerly wind from the Gulf of Mexico.
STORMS POSSIBLE SATURDAY… Saturday morning will feature intermittent showers before a more robust chance of showers and a few thunderstorms on Saturday evening. Atmospheric instability is expected to be at a minimum, but not zero. I can’t rule out an isolated thunderstorm locally, especially over west Alabama. The severe weather risk will be low, but probably not zero for the western half of our area. Check back with me over the next few days as we approach the weekend for more info about this low-end severe weather risk. Rain amounts will be in the neighborhood of 0.75” to 1.25” in total.
BIG TIME COLD AIR COMING… After the passage of a cold front late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, MAJOR cold air will pummel into our region from the northwest. Temperatures will steadily decrease from late Saturday night all the way to Monday morning. This defies the traditional diurnal peak in temperatures. Temperatures will “go the wrong way” all day on Sunday, starting in the 50s around 6AM and ending up in the 30s by early evening. With a strong north wind factored in, wind chill values Sunday afternoon and evening will clearly be in the 20s and 30s. Very cold conditions ahead of the hard freeze on Sunday night into Monday.
HARD FREEZE MONDAY MORNING… Most spots across the interior of south Alabama and northwest Florida will be in the upper-10s or low-20s by 6AM on Monday. I fully expect the local National Weather Service office to issue a Hard Freeze Warning for the area due to this. There is a chance that some of us won’t rise out of the 30s during the day on Monday, and again, with the north or northwest wind factored in, wind chill values will be in the 20s and 30s. We drop below freezing again Monday night into Tuesday before a warming trend commences during the daytime hours of Tuesday.
See all the details, including a graphical look at the next 7 days, in your Wednesday #rzw forecast video that will be available shortly in the RedZone Weather app… Enjoy your day!