Huntsville, Dothan, Birmingham, and Garden City in Cullman County spread the word early about the brutal overnight cold. The low temperatures along the Tennessee Valley, over the weekend and into Monday morning, are forecast to be as low as the mid teens. Even the Wiregrass region toward the south was predicted to be in the mid-twenties. Warming stations opened over the weekend and into this morning. The bitter cold in Huntsville is expected to stay below freezing until mid-day today. Garden City, north of Birmingham, announced its intent to keep its warming stations open Monday night and into Tuesday if needed.
The Alabama Emergency Management Agency issued a release on how a strong cold front will move through the state Saturday night into Sunday. With the front, there is a 30%-50% chance of precipitation from 9 pm Saturday – 3 am Sunday across the northern half of the state and from 9 pm Saturday – 10 am Sunday across the southern half.
The agency says Total precipitation amounts will be light (0.1 inch or less). There could be a brief period of freezing drizzle early Sunday morning in far north Alabama, but with gusty winds impacts should be minimal due to evaporative drying. Still, there could be some brief icy spots on bridges “if” the drizzle materializes.
The news release goes onto say that for areas near and north of I-20: Low temperatures Sunday morning will range from the middle 20s to lower 30s with high temperatures Sunday in the lower to middle 30s. Combined with gusty winds of 15-25 mph, wind chill readings will be in the single digits and teens early Sunday and in the 20s during the afternoon and evening hours.
The agency says across the entire state, the coldest night of the season will occur Sunday night into Monday morning with low temperatures in the teens north of a Livingston – Montgomery – Auburn line, with lower to middle 20s south of this line. Wind chill readings Sunday night into early Monday morning will range from the single digits north to lower teens near the coast.
Temperatures near and north of a Hamilton – Cullman – Fort Payne line are currently forecast to remain below freezing from around 3 am Sunday until around 10 am Monday.
A warmup will begin Monday. High temperatures will range from the upper 30s north to upper 40s south. Low temperatures Tuesday morning will be in the 20s with seasonal readings from Tuesday afternoon through the remainder of next week.
