CHILLY START: After starting off with below-freezing temperatures and a Freeze Warning for most of central Alabama and all of north Alabama through 8 a.m., we’ll have plenty of sunshine, with afternoon highs reaching the mid-50s to the lower 60s from northwest to southeast. Skies will remain clear and those temperatures will drop into the mid to upper 30s overnight.

 

A LITTLE WARMER SUNDAY: We’ll continue to have near-complete sunshine through the day Sunday with high pressure just off to our southeast. Temperatures will be warmer, as the flow will be out of the south and southwest. Afternoon highs will be in the mid to upper 60s.

COLD FRONT HEADS OUR WAY: Clouds will increase throughout the day Monday as a strong cold front brings our next chance of showers. Rain looks to start as early as late evening in western and northwestern Alabama and into the Birmingham metropolitan area by midnight. The cold front will begin working through central Alabama overnight, bringing colder air and breezy conditions. Afternoon highs will top out in the lower 60s to the lower 70s, but the lows will drop into the lower 30s to the upper 40s. Rainfall through midnight looks to be light, around one-quarter inch or less.

MUCH COLDER, WINDY TUESDAY: Tuesday looks to be a raw, nasty day. Showers should be out of central Alabama completely by midday. There may be a few snow flurries or sleet pellets on the backside of the rain, but there will be no travel issues at all. Rainfall amounts should stay around one-quarter inch or less. Winds will be out of the north around 15 mph with gusts as high as 30 mph possible, which will make those afternoon highs in the mid-30s to the upper 40s feel much worse. The coldest night we will see so far this season will occur Tuesday night into Wednesday morning as lows drop into the upper teens to the upper 20s across the state from north to south.

ONLY A LITTLE BETTER WEDNESDAY: High pressure will be centered off to our northwest, over southwestern Tennessee. That will continue to bring us cool, dry weather on Wednesday. We’ll have plenty of sunshine throughout the daylight hours, but clouds will increase during the late-night and overnight hours. Highs will be in the mid-40s to the lower 50s.

DRY, MOSTLY CLOUDY THURSDAY: As the high moves off over east-central North Carolina, the flow out of the southwest on Thursday will start to pull some moisture up from the Gulf of Mexico. A low over the northern Gulf will move northeastward. We may see a stray shower or two over extreme southern Alabama very late in the day, but nearly all of central Alabama will stay dry. Highs will be in the upper 40s to the mid-50s.

A FEW SHOWERS POSSIBLE TO END THE WORK WEEK: On Friday, the low will move onshore over the Big Bend region of the Florida Panhandle. With it being that close to Alabama, we could see some spotty, light showers move across the southern half of the state, mainly during the late morning through late night. Highs will be in the lower 50s to the lower 60s.

TROPICS: The Atlantic Basin is free from tropical waves or disturbances of any concern, and no new tropical cyclones are expected to form within the next five days.

ON THIS DAY IN 1982: Seven tornadoes touched down in southern California, three of which began as waterspouts. The waterspouts moved ashore at Point Mugu, Malibu and Long Beach. The Long Beach tornado traveled inland 10 miles, causing much damage.

BEACH FORECAST: Get the latest weather and rip current forecasts for the beaches from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Panama City Beach, Florida, on our Beach Forecast Center page. There, you can select the forecast of the region you are interested in.

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For more weather news and information from James Spann, Scott Martin and other members of the James Spann team, visit AlabamaWx.