8:05AM January 16, 2025

QUITE CHILLY NEXT WEEK… Rain becomes likely on Saturday ahead of VERY cold air surging into the region on Sunday into Monday.

Highs on Monday will probably only be in the 30s. 🥶

Still too early to know if snow/mix will be a real possibility toward the end of next week.

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6:56AM January 16, 2025

A.M. CLOUDS & P.M. SUN TODAY; RAIN SATURDAY; UPDATE ON SNOW CHANCES NEXT WEEK… Clouds around this morning are expected to gradually fade away as skies become mostly sunny this afternoon into the early evening hours. High temperatures will be in the low 60s in many spots today. Get outside and enjoy the fleeting warmth today and tomorrow if you can as rain is set to come back into the forecast Friday night into Saturday ahead of sharply colder air coming in on Sunday. Many questions persist about the potential for snow and/or mixed precipitation across parts of the Deep South next week. While I can’t say for sure whether our local area will have snow or not, we can discuss the factors involved.

RAIN AT TIMES FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY… Scattered showers will become possible Friday night ahead of rain and thunderstorms becoming more likely on Saturday morning. The greatest chance of a few thunderstorms will happen near the Alabama and northwest Florida beaches on Saturday. For now, the overall risk of severe weather (tornadoes and damaging wind gusts) with this system is near zero due to the lack of any surface-based instability. Some of the guidance has indicated there may be a VERY brief window for a strong storm or two near the coast, but those are outlier scenarios for now. For now, we’re planning on rain and thunder at times with no significant hazards.

VERY COLD AIR MOVES IN SUNDAY INTO MONDAY… The system responsible for the rain on Saturday is a cold front that will cross our area from northwest to southeast on Saturday night into Sunday. Sharply colder air pushes in behind the advancing front. Temperatures will be in the upper 40s on Sunday afternoon with a brisk northwesterly wind. Temperatures will nose dive into the 20s on Sunday night into early Monday with wind chill values in the mid 10s by 6AM Monday. Highs on Monday may stay in the 30s all day.

UPDATE ON SNOW/MIX PROBABILITIES FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY… A high amount of uncertainty continues to surround a weather system expected to develop to our west on Tuesday and Wednesday of the upcoming week. This system has at least some chance of causing mixed precipitation and snow across parts of the Deep South. What we know is we will have very cold air in place across the region. What we currently do not know (and won’t know, most likely, until Friday P.M. or Saturday A.M.) is IF an area of low pressure will develop and move toward our local area. If the low doesn’t develop, that would pretty much eliminate any chance of snow/mix/rain for us Tuesday into Wednesday. If the low DOES develop, there is a high chance it will move our way and cause wintry precipitation problems. I don’t want to be more specific than that right now because it is impossible to know where the rain/mix/snow lines will set up. Model guidance over the last 24 hours has really backed off on the idea of a major winter storm for our area. That doesn’t mean the possibility is off the table, but it does mean that we need to review more data as it comes in over the next few days to be able to correctly ascertain details.

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 Thursday morning RedZone Weather forecast video. Have a great day!

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6:29AM January 16, 2025

HIGHS NEAR 60° THIS AFTERNOON… Skies will become mostly sunny later today with temperatures that may break through the 60 degree mark by 3PM. It has been awhile since we have seen 60s on the board.

Rain becomes likely Friday night into Saturday as a cold front approaches from the northwest.

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8:43PM January 15, 2025

WILL WE HAVE SNOW AND ICE AROUND NEXT WEEK? HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE DON’T KNOW… Many more questions than answers exist at this point concerning the potential for wintry mischief across parts of the Deep South on Tuesday and Wednesday of the upcoming week. One thing is for sure: It will be VERY, very cold next week with highs in the 30s and 40s with lows in the low 20s. We will have temperatures in the 60s tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday, meaning NOW is the time to prepare for several days of very cold weather. We will begin to get a better grasp on the potential (or lack thereof) for mixed precipitation in our area as we continue to get more data in over the next few days. I suspect we will have a better idea of what will happen next week on Friday P.M. or Saturday morning. As of Wednesday evening, we can safely say we’re looking at two distinct scenarios for the middle part of next week.

SCENARIO #1: DRY AND VERY COLD TEMPS… If an area of low pressure fails to develop or if an area of low pressure develops and moves far to the south across the southern Gulf of Mexico, that scenario would mean our local area would simply have VERY cold and dry conditions Monday through Wednesday of next week. High temperatures will be in the 30s and 40s next week with overnight lows in the 20s.

SCENARIO #2: POTENTIAL FOR WINTER PRECIPITATION -OR- RAIN… If an area of low pressure develops and moves east across the central Gulf, there would be an enhanced risk of precipitation across parts of the Deep South. This means snow, sleet, freezing rain, or maybe even JUST rain would be possible locally across south Alabama and northwest Florida. There is NO way to be able to discern where the “lines” for snow/mix/rain would set up in this specific scenario. As is ALWAYS true in these winter scenarios, there will be some surprises if this scenario pans out as winter storms are rare across the local area. The rarity means models do not handle the events well.

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!

I will have much more information on the mixed precipitation risk for next week along with a look at the potential for rain and storms on Saturday in the next RedZone Weather forecast video that will be posted by 7:15AM tomorrow morning. Hope you will join us for that. Have a good night!

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8:38PM January 15, 2025

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