RAIN TODAY; FREEZING RAIN TO THE WEST; FEW STORMS TO THE EAST… Rain is the word today ahead of significantly colder air set to arrive behind a cold front that will cross our region from west to east today. There could be a few areas near the Alabama-Mississippi state line in west Alabama where freezing rain accumulates as ice on elevated surfaces, roadways, and bridges. Please be aware of this potential, especially if you are in Clarke, Washington, Choctaw, or Marengo counties in west Alabama. On the other side of our region, we will be concerned for a brief period of time this afternoon into this evening when a low-end tornado risk will be in place. Precipitation will come to an end this evening as cold, dry air rushes into our region. This will allow for scattered areas of black ice to develop on area roadways as cold air freezes puddles and any standing water. In addition, wind chill values tonight will plummet into the single digits and 10s across the interior of southwest Alabama. This is a very pronounced cold air invasion that will last through Wednesday morning. More forecast details are below.
FREEZING RAIN CONCERNS IN WEST ALABAMA… While the vast majority of our local area will have a cold rain, several communities in west Alabama could have accumulating ice issues due to freezing rain this morning into this afternoon and even the early evening hours. Freezing rain happens when precipitation falls as RAIN (liquid) before freezing on contact with a surface. Even minor amounts of 0.2″ of accumulating freezing rain/ice can cause trees to fall, thus creating the potential for widespread power outages. The following communities are at the greatest risk in our local area for ice issues: Millry, Coffeeville, Chatom, Yarbo, Jordan, Butler, Gilbertown, Silas, and Toxey.
TRAVEL IN WEST ALABAMA COULD BECOME HAZARDOUS… If you or someone you know is traveling today, tonight, or even early Tuesday morning, please be aware for the potential for ice accumulations being possible on local roadways. The main concern for this in southwest Alabama will be in parts of Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, and Marengo counties.
LOW-END SEVERE WEATHER RISK… There is a low-end risk of a few strong to marginally severe thunderstorms on the southeastern flank of our region today. The low-end, Level 1 (out of 5) marginal severe weather risk is in place for parts of southern Baldwin, Escambia (FL), Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Covington counties. We note areas near Destin, Niceville, Eglin AFB, and Fort Walton Beach are technically included in the higher, Level 2 (out of 5) risk where the tornado risk may be slightly higher. The main risk for a few stronger storms will happen from Noon to 5PM. Storms will move east of our region by sunset, most likely.
VERY COLD AIR ARRIVES BEHIND COLD FRONT… Behind the band of precipitation that moves through today, we have a very cold air mass set to move into our region tonight. Air temperatures will rapidly drop into the 40s around 6PM this evening. We’ll be in the 30s by 8PM with most spots headed into the 20s by 11PM. Some locales in west Alabama may briefly dip into the 10s by daybreak on Tuesday. These are air temperatures! More details about the wind chill values are below.
WIND CHILLS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS IN WEST ALABAMA OVERNIGHT… Tonight will be one of the coldest, if not the coldest, night of the year for our local area. Air temperatures near 20 degrees by daybreak on Tuesday combined with a brisk wind out of the northwest at 10-15 mph will make the air feel *extremely* cold. Wind chill values as low as 3 to 5 degrees will be possible across parts of northern Washington, northern Clarke, and Choctaw counties in west Alabama. Most spots locally will have wind chill values in the 10s. VERY COLD NIGHT AHEAD!
BLACK ICE CONCERNS ON AREA ROADWAYS TONIGHT… Most of our local area will have precipitation that happens in the form of rain today. If this rain forms puddles and wet spots on local roadways, this can become black ice once subfreezing temperatures happen tonight into Tuesday morning. Black ice will be a real concern for travelers and folks who will be on the road tonight into early Tuesday morning. This is especially true in parts of Washington, Clarke, Monroe, Choctaw, Marengo, and Wilcox counties. Keep in mind that the risk of black ice elsewhere across the region is not zero, but the risk is lower outside of those counties. If you’re traveling tonight into Tuesday morning, PLEASE be cautious and aware of the potential for black ice. If you know someone that has to be on local roadways in this timeframe, please make sure they are aware of this potential.
SUNSHINE RETURNS TUESDAY… Clouds will move out early Tuesday morning to our east, allowing sunshine to break out during the daytime hours. Due to ongoing cold air advection, high temperatures on Tuesday across our area won’t get out of the mid-40s. Temperatures will again be below freezing on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Wind chill values won’t be as cold since winds will have calmed down quite a bit.
MORE RAIN ON WEDNESDAY EVENING… Our next round of rain is set to begin on Wednesday, primarily in the evening hours after sunset. There could be a few showers Wednesday afternoon and into the early evening hours. Highs on Wednesday will recover into the upper-50s.
STRONG STORMS POSSIBLE THURSDAY… A few strong to severe thunderstorms may become possible on Thursday across parts of the Deep South as an area of low pressure develops in the Gulf and lifts northeast. There could be a potential tornado risk involved. We will be able to get more specifics about potential hazards after our active weather today. Please check back in over the next few days for more updates on this.
FINALLY: A SUNNY WEEKEND AHEAD… We finally get a break from the active weather pattern starting on Friday. Skies will clear from west to east on Friday ahead of mostly sunny conditions on Saturday and Sunday. Highs on Friday will be in the 40s, but we rebound into the 60s on Saturday and Sunday.
APP… If you haven’t already downloaded the RedZone Weather app, now is a great time to do that. redzoneweather.com/app is the link to the free download. Once you have the RZW app installed on your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab to turn on the specific notifications you’d like to receive. All notifications are handcrafted by me. No automation and we promise not to bug you!
See all the details in your Monday #rzw forecast video. Have a great Monday, stay safe, and stay warm!
