That Weather Blog: Staying Cold

FORECAST:

Sunday (High 42, Low 15): Sunny. Staying cold.

Monday (High 40, Low 27): Mostly sunny. Cold.

Tuesday (High 39, Low 17): Sunny. Cold.

EXTENDED OUTLOOK:

Wednesday (High 40, Low 20): Sunny.

Thursday (High 46, Low 22): Sunny.

Friday (High 51, Low 28): Mostly sunny.

Saturday (High 53, Low 40): Showers likely.

PRONÓSTICO:

Domingo (Máxima 42, Mínima 15): Soleado. Frío.

Lunes (Máxima 40, Mínima 27): Mayormente soleado. Frío.

Martes (Máxima 39, Mínima 17): Soleado. Frío.

PERSPECTIVA EXTENDIDA:

Miércoles (Máxima 40, Mínima 20): Soleado.

Jueves (Máxima 46, Mínima 22): Soleado.

Viernes (Máxima 51, Mínima 28): Mayormente soleado.

Sábado (Máxima 53, Mínima 40): Probabilidad de lluvias.

NOTES:

Here are the early snowfall total reports from yesterday's winter storm.

Roads continue to be slick, and it is still important to protect people, pets, plants, and pipes from this cold spell we are still going through. A snowpack still on the ground naturally makes for a colder night.

DISCUSSION:

Here at 9:15 PM CDT it is clear with perfect 10 miles of visibility in Cullman. The temperature is 26.6 degrees, but we'll round it up to 27. The dewpoint is also 26.6 degrees, making the relative humidity 100%. Winds are calm. The pressure is 30.05 inches and steady.

Our High today was 37 degrees, and our current temperature of 27 is our Low so far. So I'm not even going to bother with Low temps for other nearby sites. They might be still "to be determined" before we get to midnight.

But a quick look at High temperatures: Jasper made it up to 43 today under partly to mostly sunny skies. Haleyville made it up to 40 degrees. Huntsville had a High of 38. And Nashville had a High of 34.

So there are still a lot of slick roads out there. Even the least bit of moisture can refreeze.

Anyway our snowmaker is well out of here and being replaced by a high pressure system moving in from the Southwest.

Tomorrow we'll see sunny skies as that High moves through here. We should start the day about 15 degrees (so again, protect pipes, pets, but especially people from this cold) and warm up to about 42 in the afternoon. Winds should stay light but could still make it feel like it's in the 20's most of the day. This is the day most of our melting of the snow and iced-over roads should happen though. Major travel issues should be over by tomorrow night for most places, even up along and just North of the Tennessee border. But remember, any moisture at all can refreeze and aggravate at least the elevated roadways like on bridges, even if it's only fog freezing there, but certainly after leftover rainwater . . . so still please be careful. Saw a lot of accidents with this system, seems like Morgan County especially got several this go-round. Even though the major impact of this system is over, some caution is still wise like tomorrow night, Monday morning.

If you're well up into Tennessee, then the next few days, you need to pay extra attention for any refreezing, since the thawing out will take longer in Central and Northern Tennessee, colder temperatures overall up there, which is how it usually goes. Main issue would be for secondary roads. I think the main roads will likely be okay, or mostly okay, by Monday and beyond, for places like Nashville.

A system will affect Southern Alabama on Monday, but we'll stay dry in North Alabama. We'll be mostly sunny with a High near 40, Low near 30. We'll have enough moisture to keep us from being so brutally cold at night anyway.

But in the wake of that system, we'll have another shot of really cold air despite sunny skies, starting the day in the upper 10's and only warming up to about 40 degrees, struggling to get there.

Then Wednesday looks sunny with a High near 40, Low near 20.

Another sunny day Thursday with Highs rising into the mid-to-upper-40's, the Low staying down in the lower 20's.

Looks like our upper-level wind flow becomes more zonal from the West on Friday as the High pressure exits to our Northeast. We should be mostly sunny around here with a High of 50 or so, Low rebounding to near 30.