Weekend Weather: Sunny Days, Chilly Nights
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FOR TONIGHT: With a clear sky and a new air mass settling into the state, expect a rather chilly Friday night across South-Central Alabama. You will certainly want to grab a jacket if you have plans. Temperatures will be steadily falling and by tomorrow morning, lower 40s are what you can expect.
ON THE MAPS: A trough has dug down into the Eastern U.S. and that is allowing a parade of cold fronts to move south and bring colder air into the eastern half of the U.S. Just to the north of Alabama, freeze watches and warnings extend from Nebraska and Iowa, across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, all the way to the Carolina Coast, as we can see that by all the areas highlighted in purple and blue below. Over the weekend, I would not be surprised to see some of these perhaps extended south in the portions of Alabama.
WEEKEND WEATHER: Speaking of the weekend, both Saturday and Sunday will be gorgeous spring days with plenty of sunshine, blue sky, and calm weather. High tomorrow will be a few degrees cooler than today, so mid and upper 60s are expected. Locations across North Alabama will likely stay in the 50s all day. Sunday a warming trend begins, and temperatures will rise into the lower to mid 70s.
The issue with the weekend weather will come from the rather cold nights/early mornings. Frosty conditions are possible this weekend, and precautions may need to be taken to protect sensitive vegetation especially across northern and eastern portions of Alabama. Growers beware and monitor temperature forecasts over the weekend. Sunday morning still looks to be coldest with the wind going calm. Many locations should be in the upper 30s, but as you all know, that is on average, some locations will be warmer, while others will be colder, due to local affects.
FOR NEXT WEEK: Another front will be approaching the state Monday night. For much of the day Monday, we are forecasting very mild and dry conditions, but showers and storms return to the state Monday night and Tuesday as a surface low moves over North Alabama. We may have to deal with some strong storms Tuesday. As of now, the SPC has not defined any part of Alabama in a severe weather risk. However, every storm system that moves through the state this time of year has the potential to produce severe storms. For now, the odds of severe weather in our state look low, but that could change. Behind the system by midweek, drier air returns with slightly cooler temperatures to end the week.
LONG RANGE: Temperatures will dip a bit behinds next week’s system, but we are thinking that this will be the last cold snap of the season this weekend. Looking the long range models, the trough in the East goes bye bye, and a ridge will develop. That set up will allow for a warming trend, and it looks like highs consistently in the 80s are in the forecast by the second half of April.
