James Spann: very cold Arctic air for the weekend; snow showers tomorrow night/Sat morning?

A BIT WARMER THIS AFTERNOON: After starting the day in the 20s, we expect a high in the 50s over the southern half of the state today, with upper 40s over the northern counties. The air remains dry and the sky will be partly sunny.

Clouds will increase tonight ahead of an Arctic front that will pass through the state tomorrow. A few sprinkles are possible with the frontal passage, but the air remain pretty dry, and most places won’t see any rain. Temperatures will reach the 40s and 50s ahead of the front, but they could fall into the 30s across the Tennessee Valley.

SNOW? Very cold Arctic air will rush into the state tomorrow night and Saturday. North Alabama will reach the 15-19 degree range by Saturday morning, with single digit wind chills. The high Saturday afternoon will range from the low 20s near the Tennessee state line to the mid 30s along the coast with an icy north wind making it feel colder.

This pattern tends to favor a few bands of snow showers over north Alabama; if it happens it would be mainly from 9:00 tomorrow night through midday Saturday. While most places won’t see a flake, where the bands do set up there could be some light accumulation, generally a quarter inch or less. With temperatures well below freezing this could bring a few icy spots on roads, but at this point we are not expecting widespread impact.

We do note some of the high-resolution models actually show a few lake effect snow bands across North Alabama along and south of the Tennessee River late tomorrow night and Saturday morning.

A significant winter storm will unfold east of Alabama this weekend, with snow likely across east Georgia, the Carolinas, southern and eastern Virginia, and up the Atlantic coast to eastern Maine.

In Alabama some of the colder spots over the northern third of the state could reach the single digits early Sunday with a clear sky and light wind. Sunny will be a sunny day with highs in the 30s and 40s.

NEXT WEEK: Monday and Tuesday will be dry with a slow warming trend; highs return to the 50s Tuesday. Global models suggest a chance of rain at mid-week on Wednesday ahead of a surface low; remains to be seen if there is any risk of snow for the Tennessee Valley with this feature. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.

ON THIS DATE IN 1966: A cold wave was underway across much of the southern U.S. Birmingham’s low on Jan. 29, 1966 was 2 degrees. The next morning would bring the coldest temperatures on record for the state, including -27°F at New Market in Madison County.

ON THIS DATE IN 2002: A major three-day winter storm blasted parts of Kansas and Missouri. A catastrophic ice storm occurred south of the snow area, with two inches of ice and snow accumulating in the Kansas City area. Thousands of trees were felled by the storm, blocking roads, felling utility lines, and causing fires.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit the Alabama Weather Network.