UNSEASONABLY COLD TEMPERATURES TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY… RZW Exec members, I hope you’re each having a nice Veterans Day Monday. We have a strong cold front set to arrive in our area around 3AM on Tuesday. This cold front will usher in the coldest air of the fall season we’ve had so far. We will have rain at times this evening into the overnight hours. While we could have a few sleet pellets or small snow flurries on the back edge of the band of precipitation on Tuesday morning between 6AM and 9AM across parts of Choctaw, Washington, and Clarke counties, I am not expecting significant winter weather impacts across vast majority of our region at this time. This will be a cold rain event for most of us with no wintry precipitation. No sleet or ice accumulations are expected across our area.
VERY COLD TUESDAY… There is a high chance that temperatures “go the wrong way” on Tuesday. Our technical high temperature will happen just after midnight when most spots are in the 60s. The cold front will move by between 2AM and 8AM, bringing down temperatures into the 40s by 8AM Tuesday. Most spots will remain in the 40s all day Tuesday with a cold 5-15 mph wind out of the northwest. Wind chill values may be in the 30s all day on Tuesday, which will probably go down as one of our coldest days of 2019.
FREEZE WATCH FOR ENTIRE LOCAL AREA… The National Weather Service in Mobile has issued a Freeze Watch valid from 6PM Tuesday to 9AM on Wednesday. This Freeze Watch is in effect for the entirety of south Alabama and northwest Florida. There is a very high chance this will need to be upgraded to a Freeze Warning later today. These products are issued at the beginning and end of the growing season to alert farmers and the general public that an unseasonable freeze is expected.
TEMPERATURES IN THE 20s WEDNESDAY MORNING… Temperatures will be below 30 degrees for several hours on Wednesday morning, probably from 1AM to 8AM. Our forecast calls for most spots across south Alabama and northwest Florida to find a minimum air temperature at 6AM Wednesday between 25-29°. The wind chill during this time frame will be in the 17-21° range due to the strong northwest wind.
TEMPERATURES MODERATE LATER THIS WEEK… This will be a pronounced cold snap through Thursday. Temperatures will drop below freezing again Wednesday night into Thursday morning. We warm into the 60s by Thursday with lows in the 40s this weekend. This won’t be a long duration, weeklong freeze event or anything close to that, but it IS a classic fall cold snap for the Deep South with two nights of temperatures below freezing.
Please let me know if you have any decision support needs related to this cold snap. Have a great evening!