8:09AM January 20, 2026

RAIN AT TIMES INTO THE WEEKEND… Unsettled pattern over the next few days! Rain chances will increase this weekend. A crippling winter storm is increasingly likely to happen to our north.

Much colder air returns to our local area on Sunday.

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6:54AM January 21, 2026

MOSTLY CLOUDY WEDNESDAY; RAIN LIKELY AT TIMES THIS WEEKEND; ICE STORM TO OUR NORTH… Skies will transition from the sunnier, nice pattern over the last couple of days to more of a cloudy setup later today. High temperatures on this Wednesday will surge into the mid 60s by 2PM, the warmest day we’ve had in awhile. Tomorrow, high temperatures will be even more mild with some spots reaching the 70 degree mark by the early afternoon hours. The warmth isn’t here to stay, however, as a prolonged cold snap kicks off this weekend and lasts well into next week.

SPOTTY SHOWERS POSSIBLE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY… Ahead of a very complex setup slated to happen across the Deep South this weekend, isolated rain showers will become possible across south Alabama and northwest Florida tomorrow into Friday. Not every community across the region will have rain, but I am expecting a few widely scattered showers to happen. High temperatures will be in the upper 60s and low 70s on both Thursday and Friday. Overnight lows will be in the 40s and 50s, way too warm for any winter weather mischief.

RAIN LIKELY LOCALLY THIS WEEKEND; SIGNIFICANT ICE STORM POSSIBLE TO OUR NORTH… Scattered rain showers are likely across south Alabama and northwest Florida on both Saturday and Sunday. We’ll be tracking what could be a crippling ice storm and winter weather event for areas just to our north across parts of north Mississippi, Tennessee, north Alabama, and north Georgia. The spatial details of what communities get which precipitation type (rain, freezing rain, sleet, and/or snow) are not able to be resolved this far out. The confidence is high, however, that parts of the Deep South may have major impacts from this winter precipitation setup. Folks in the northern half of Alabama and across the Deep South should begin preparation now for this event as this may be a multi-day storm with lasting impacts.

VERY COLD PATTERN LOCALLY EARLY NEXT WEEK… Cold, Arctic air will dominate our local weather pattern starting on Monday. Afternoon high temperatures on Monday and Tuesday of the upcoming week will struggle to get out of the mid 40s. I am expecting the potential for a hard freeze multiple nights during the upcoming week. Highs will probably only be near the 50 degree mark into Wednesday and Thursday. This will be the coldest air mass so far for the eastern half of the continental United States. Please be aware of this if you are traveling anywhere to our north next week as frigid conditions are expected.

APP… If you haven’t already, be sure to download the free RedZone Weather app to keep up with all the latest information on the world of weather in south Alabama and northwest Florida. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Once you have the app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner) and tap the Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.

See all the details in your Wednesday morning RedZone Weather forecast video. My next forecast video will be posted by 7:15AM tomorrow morning. I will have updates posted throughout the day, as needed, in the RedZone Weather app.

Have a nice Wednesday!

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6:29AM January 21, 2026

FEW SHOWERS ACROSS WEST ALABAMA LATER TODAY… Increasing cloudiness is expected on this Wednesday. A few rain showers may become possible this afternoon into this evening, particularly across parts of west Alabama.

High temperatures will be in the low 60s.

Enjoy the day!

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7:38PM January 20, 2026

SIGNIFICANT ICE STORM MAY HAPPEN ACROSS PARTS OF THE DEEP SOUTH THIS WEEKEND… Major disruptions may be possible across parts of the Deep South during the upcoming weekend due to what could be a prolific and significant winter storm, likely in the form of an ice storm. This could be a widespread, significant event that extends from Texas to the Carolinas, including a large chunk of the Deep South. It is impossible 4 days out to nail down specifics of what individual communities can expect, but model guidance has been trending toward a very impactful storm that could cause major disruptions across the Deep South. Uncertainty remains quite high with specifics but we’re beginning to be able to see that this could be a higher-end system in terms of overall impacts.

The map attached is the Probability of AT LEAST Minor Winter Weather Impacts from the NWS Weather Prediction Center (WPC). This metric is the percentage of the winter storm causing at least minor disruptions, including potential road/travel issues. Confidence is growing in potentially significant impacts for parts of north Louisiana, north Mississippi, north Alabama, north Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.

LOCAL IMPACTS DISCUSSION – SOUTH ALABAMA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA… Fortunately for much of south Alabama and northwest Florida, right now it looks like our local area will be on the “warm” side of this system for much of the weekend. This means that precipitation will likely happen MOSTLY in the form of rain. Sleet and freezing rain may become a problem for parts of southwest Alabama on Sunday. It is too early to be able to get specific about what communities receive rain versus sleet or freezing rain. Unfortunately, this does NOT look like a snow event like what happened last weekend. Rain quickly changed over to snow without much incident last weekend. This weekend is a totally different animal. Widespread freezing rain/ice will happen in areas JUST to our north and west. WAY too close for comfort. Further forecast changes in the days ahead may shift the freezing rain zone into parts of our region. Please check back in for updates in the days ahead.

FURTHER FORECAST CHANGES LIKELY… We are still 3-4 days out from this event starting. That means that further changes to the forecast are expected. Winter storms are notoriously difficult to forecast in the Deep South, largely because of the infrequency between events. Ice storms don’t happen often, but when one does happen, significant impacts can become possible. In this case, this looks like a widespread, significant event. Please check back in for updates in the days ahead.

MAJOR IMPACTS POSSIBLE IN PARTS OF NORTH MS, NORTH AL, NORTH GA, AND TN… You don’t see a setup like this very often. The potential exists for what could be a crippling, widespread ice storm, perhaps extending across a very large swath of the American South. Some of the global models are showing total freezing rain accumulations of 1+ inches. That may not sound like a lot, but remember that 0.25″ of freezing rain can cause MAJOR problems. The issue is that freezing rain falls as a liquid (as rain) and then instantly freezes on contact with whatever it encounters. The weight of freezing rain can topple power lines, causing widespread, significant, and potentially long-lasting power outages. Combine that with the forecast of VERY cold temperatures and you can see why the potential exists for major, major problems. Right now, the highest probability for ice storm impacts looks to be across parts of northern Louisiana, north Mississippi, north Alabama, Tennessee, and into north Georgia and the Carolinas. Forecast changes are LIKELY over the next few days.

VERY COLD CONDITIONS EXPECTED NEXT WEEK… Warmer temperatures are in store, briefly, for south Alabama and northwest Florida on Thursday and Friday when afternoon highs will be in the 60s and near 70°. Temperatures will progressively fall this weekend. Next week, we’re expecting HIGHS in the 40s with multiple nights of subfreezing temperatures. I expect multiple hard freeze nights to happen next week. The entirety of the eastern half of the continental United States will have an Arctic, polar air mass in place that will keep temperatures substantially below climatological averages for this time of year.

APP… If you haven’t already, be sure to download the free RedZone Weather app to keep up with all the latest information on the world of weather in south Alabama and northwest Florida. redzoneweather.com/app is the link for the free download. Once you have the app downloaded to your iOS or Android device, be sure to visit the Alerts tab (lower right corner) and tap the Alert Settings button to customize the alerts you would like to receive straight from me.

I will have the latest forecast rundown posted in the morning forecast video tomorrow morning at 7:15AM. Be sure to join me then for the latest info.

Have a great Tuesday evening!

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2:31PM January 20, 2026



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