There's no denying that it's straight up COLD outside, so be prepared for a chilly weekend that might include Sunday night snowfall. The National Weather Service in Birmingham forecasts a 20% chance of snow Saturday night and an 80% chance of snow Sunday night in Tuscaloosa. Nightly lows are projected to stay under 30 degrees, even reaching a chilly 13 degrees Monday morning.

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Our Chief Meteorologist James Spann wrote about this weekend's chances for snow on the official ABC 33/40 Weather Blog this morning:

As cold air rushes into Alabama, there is a good chance the rain will change to snow before ending Sunday evening. I would suggest the best window for snow around here (Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Anniston, Gadsden) will come from about 4:00 p.m. until 12:00 midnight.

I do think there could be some light accumulation (1/2 inch or less) north of U.S. 278, or a line from Hamilton to Cullman to Gadsden. South of that a dusting is possible down to I-20. The snow in most cases shouldn’t pose any serious problems, but a few slick spots could develop over the Tennessee Valley. Strong winds, the cold, dry air will keep most roads dry, however.

COLDEST AIR IN A DECADE: We should drop below freezing Sunday evening around 6:00 p.m… and stay below freezing until around 10:00 a.m. Wednesday. That would be 62 consecutive hours below 32 degrees.

We are projecting highs Monday and Tuesday only in the upper 20s. The coldest morning will come early Tuesday with a low between 8 and 13 degrees… our friends up in the Tennessee Valley could see lows in the 5 degree range. This will be our coldest morning since January 24, 2003, when Birmingham’s low was 7 degrees.

But clearly Wednesday morning will be very cold, and the latest GFS is printing a low of 10 degrees for Birmingham, so it might be just as cold as Tuesday with a clear sky and light wind… good conditions for radiational cooling.

Now is the time to think about the things you need to do to prepare for this… be sure and check on elderly people you know that might not have an adequate source of heat, and bring in those dogs and cats.

NWS Birmingham
NWS Birmingham
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