BECOMING SUNNY TODAY; RAIN LIKELY WEDNESDAY INTO CHRISTMAS EVE… Clouds will continue to progressively move out on this Monday giving way to mostly sunny skies by this evening. High temperatures today will be in the low-60s across south Alabama and northwest Florida. We are looking ahead to our next rain chance set to happen late Wednesday evening into Christmas Eve Thursday as a potent cold front approaches from the northwest. Much cooler air is set to arrive behind the cold front, paving the way for a chilly Christmas Day on Friday. Mostly sunny skies are expected for Christmas Day with high temperatures likely to be in the upper-40s and low-50s across the region. Below are all of your Monday morning forecast details.
PATCHY FOG THIS MORNING; SKIES BECOME MOSTLY SUNNY LATER TODAY… If you’re driving this morning, please be aware there are some areas of patchy dense fog. Fog will “burn off” by 9-10AM. Lingering clouds will continue to push east and out of our area by this afternoon into this evening.
QUIET WEATHER TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING… Mostly sunny skies are ahead for Tuesday with high temperatures in the low- to mid-60s as a ridge of high pressure keeps our area stable and dry through Wednesday morning.
SHOWERS RETURN WEDNESDAY NIGHT… Rain will become possible on Wednesday evening, likely after sunset in many spots locally, as a potent cold front approaches from the northwest. This cold front, in combination with an approaching surface area of low pressure, will be the catalyst for rain and perhaps a few thunderstorms near the coast in the overnight hours of Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The overall severe weather risk with this system remains very low as of now. Widespread severe weather will likely be limited by a lack of instability.
RAIN LIKELY AT TIMES ON CHRISTMAS EVE THURSDAY… Scattered showers are expected on Christmas Eve Thursday. Rain chances will be greatest in the morning hours with most of the showers tapering off by the afternoon and evening hours. Interestingly, since the cold front is expected to move by on Wednesday night, we may have our actual high temperature just after midnight on Thursday morning with temperatures gradually falling throughout the day. Temperatures by the early afternoon hours of Thursday will likely be in the lower-50s. Rain is expected to be out of our area by Thursday evening, just in time for Santa’s ride later that evening!
NO SNOW OR MIXED PRECIPITATION IN THE FORECAST… It should be emphasized that no snow or mixed precipitation is in the forecast for south Alabama or northwest Florida. The precipitation that happens Wednesday into Thursday will happen in the form of rain. Why? While there will be plenty of moisture involved with this passing weather system, the problem (if you wanted snow or mixed precipitation) is that moisture will be pushed to the east before the sufficiently cold temperatures arrive. By midnight on Thursday night, all of the rain will be to the east and temperatures at that point will be approaching the freezing mark.
QUITE COLD ON CHRISTMAS DAY… The big weather story locally on Christmas Day will be the cold temperatures in place. There is a high chance that some spots, especially across the interior of southwest Alabama in communities like Thomasville, Beatrice, and Greenville, won’t get out of the 40s for afternoon highs. Communities closer to the coast will likely have temps in the low-50s by early afternoon.
APP ALERTS… Be sure to download our free RedZone Weather app if you haven’t done so already. redzoneweather.com/app is the link where you can download the app for your iOS or Android device. Once you have the app downloaded, be sure to visit the Alerts tab in the lower right corner of the app to select the specific notifications you would like to receive straight from me.
See all the details in your Monday #rzw forecast video. Have a wonderful day!