Published On: 01.16.25 | 

By: James Spann

James Spann: Rain for Alabama Friday night, Saturday

SUNNY, PLEASANT JANUARY DAY: Temperatures are in the 50s and low 60s across Alabama this afternoon with a sunny sky. Tonight will be clear with a low between 28 and 34 degrees.

The day Friday will be dry and pleasant, but clouds will gradually increase, and a large mass of rain will move into the state Friday night.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Rain will diminish by Saturday afternoon. For now, it looks like the most widespread rain will come from about midnight Friday night through noon Saturday; many places will see more than 1 inch. Temperatures will peak in the low 60s for most places Saturday afternoon. Then, the coldest air so far this season will blow in here Sunday with an icy north wind. We hold in the 30s all day with some slow clearing possible. Wind chill values will be well below freezing over the northern half of the state.

NEXT WEEK: Monday will be dry and very cold. We start the day well down in the teens, and north Alabama stays below freezing all day. Beyond that, we continue to see some potential for a winter storm across the southern U.S. during midweek based on consistent signals from global models. But it is still too early to know any details. Snow? Freezing rain? How much? Accumulation potential? Timing? Travel impact? We still can’t answer any of those questions now. The highest probabilities of wintry precipitation are in the Tuesday/Wednesday time frame, but the American global model continues to suggest the event will come Thursday or Thursday night. Of course, there is always a chance the system is shunted so far south in the Gulf that Alabama gets little to no precipitation.

We should have more clarity Friday, and we have potential to get into specifics over the weekend (especially by Sunday). But we can say with confidence the week will be very cold, with lows in the teens for the northern half of the state Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. There is a chance some places in far north Alabama could go below freezing Sunday and stay below freezing all the way through Thursday. Now is the time to prepare for four or five days of very cold Arctic air.

ON THIS DATE IN 2008: A winter storm affected parts of the Deep South from northern Louisiana east through central Mississippi and central Alabama. Heavier snows of 3-4 inches were reported over northeast Wayne County in Mississippi and extended into Choctaw and northern Clarke counties in southwest Alabama. Amounts of 1-2 inches were reported over Wilcox and northern Washington counties.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.