RE: It's not OT today - talking about the weather
Tuesday January 28, 2014
Forecaster: James Spann
SNOW DAY: Arctic cold, snow, and some ice will headline our forecast for Alabama today. The most significant issues with snow will come over the southern half of the state, where a winter storm warning is in effect. Here are the important points…
***
*ALL of Alabama will be very cold. The northern quarter of the state, north of U.S. 278, won’t get out of the 20s. The high for Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Anniston, and Gadsden will be only in the low to mid 30s.
*Snow will begin tomorrow morning over North Alabama, but it will be light. There is a good chance you will see snow in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Anniston, and Gadsden, but it should be light, and significant accumulation is not expected. No major travel issues are expected in these areas despite the snow.
*The chance of accumulating snow begins generally along and south of a line from Livingston to Eutaw to Greensboro to Centreville to Alabaster to Talladega to Ranburne. Some light accumulation is possible (1 inch of less) in the counties under a Winter Weather Advisory. These counties are Sumter, Greene, Hale, Bibb, Shelby, Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Perry, Chilton, and Coosa. Some minor travel issues are possible, if you live or travel in these counties, we don’t expect widespread road problems, but icy spots are very possible.
*The major snow/ice threat is along and south of U.S. 80, or south of a line from Demopolis to Selma to Montgomery to Opelika. Some communities over South Alabama could see 2 to 4 inches of snow. The heavier snow will come across South Alabama from around 12:00 noon tomorrow through 10:00 p.m.
*Near the coast, the precipitation will begin in places like Mobile, Gulf Shores, and Pensacola as rain and sleet. This will change to freezing rain tomorrow evening, and snow tomorrow night. Mobile and Pensacola could see around one inch of snow, but freezing rain and ice is the bigger threat for these coastal cities.
*Travel will be greatly impacted across the southern half of Alabama. Bridges and overpasses will be icy and dangerous, and some black top roads will become slick as well where heavier snow falls. The I-10 Bayway between Mobile and Spanish Fort will become very icy tomorrow night.
Governor Robert Bentley has declared Alabama in a “state of emergency” beginning tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. National Guard units are on standby to help if needed, and ALDOT crews are ready to work on roads.
We stress the biggest snow/ice problems will come over the southern half of Alabama tomorrow, but some snow is likely up through North/Central Alabama. It just won’t be too heavy and significant accumulation is not expected other than a dusting.
Skill in forecasting winter weather events in South Alabama is not especially high simply because we don’t have much experience and too many analogs. Be ready for some surprises, and stay tuned for updates…
|