Alabama Power Company crews are on standby for power outage repairs in north Alabama this weekend.Nearly two thousand utility crews are for deployment to portions of north Alabama this weekend. This latest forecast models are showing the northern quarter of the state will be hit by a significant winter storm system this weekend.The system will contain a wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet and ice, creating hazardous driving conditions.Ice accumulation on tree limbs is also expected to result in widespread power outages.
APR news spoke with National Weather Service forecaster Todd Barron about the winter emergency conditions the Tennessee Valley may face over the weekend. Along with dangerously icy roads and brutal temperatures, the possibility of regional power outages came up.
“If we're able to get a lot of ice, and especially a lot of ice on these power lines, if we have power outages, it's going to be cold out there,” Barron warned. “So make sure that we have some sort of heat source, staying warm, staying indoors, doing what you can to stay warm if your house does, in fact, lose power, gas.”
The winter blast is to due to a polar vortex that’s expected to bring brutally cold temperatures to two-thirds of the country by Sunday.Temperatures are dropping below zero in some areas, and strong, gusty winds are creating life-threatening wind chills.Extreme cold warnings and watches are in effect across the northern Plains and the Upper Midwest.Wind chills could drop well below zero.The arctic air is forecast to stretch from Texas to the East Coast starting Friday , lasting through the weekend.
The National Weather Service says to expect snow, sleet and freezing rain from the southern Rockies and Mid-South before heading east.Dangerous travel conditions and power outages could cause problems, especially if people lose heat.
The highest snow totals are forecast from Nashville into western North Carolina, with as much as two feet possible in the Appalachians.Even states like Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia could see a foot of snow.
