Ice Issues This Weekend?

The Tuesday afternoon map discussion video is on the server:

http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb

While the short term forecast will highlight a nice warming trend, our attention is focused on the weekend, with some potential ice problems on the table.

MID-WEEK: Warmer, lots of clouds, and maybe a little drizzle in spots tomorrow. Good chance we see low 60s tomorrow. Then, we will be even warmer on Thursday. Some spots might even approach 70 degrees, and only a small risk of a shower.

While we warm-up, brutally cold air moves down into the northern U.S. Many spots in North Dakota and Montana will not reach 0 degrees on Thursday as a whopper 1056 mb high builds over the western part of Canada.

FRIDAY: The leading edge of the Arctic air moves into the Tennessee Valley late in the day, and a few showers are likely.

WEEKEND: The weekend looks cold, wet, and potentially icy for the northern half of the state. Looks like we stay in the 30s all day Saturday, while Mobile might reach 75. As discussed many times here in recent days, the cold air will be very shallow, only a few thousand feet deep. This means freezing rain could be a problem, and that, of course, can lead to ice accumulation on exposed objects and some big time headaches.

Here is the way we see it now:

Significant icing will be possible over extreme North Alabama and Tennessee during the day Saturday, continuing Saturday night and Sunday morning. Places like Huntsville, Muscle Shoals, and Nashville could see enough ice to create travel problems on bridges, and just maybe enough ice load for power outages. Ice issues might even begin Friday night. If you are traveling to the north be aware of this potential.

For the I-20 corridor, including Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Anniston, we expect a cold rain on Saturday with temperatures in the mid 30s. But, some light icing is possible Saturday night and Sunday morning. At the moment it does not look like enough ice for power problems, but bridge icing might lead to travel difficulties from about 6:00 p.m. Saturday through 10:00 a.m. Sunday.

Needless to say, this is a very early first call and that will probably have to be changed a bit as we get closer to the weekend.

Temperatures should rise above freezing statewide by Sunday afternoon. Monday should be warmer with more rain, and maybe even a thunderstorm or two.

Colder and drier air should then arrive by Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

LONG RANGE: Still looking much warmer as March begins in a couple of weeks. Our thoughts will be turning to spring. But remember, that also marks the beginning of the spring tornado season in Alabama.

THANKS: The kids at Thorsby Elementary were great today; I saw the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Look for them on the KIDCAM on ABC 33/40 News today at 5:00!

STORM ALERT 2006: Don't forget we are coming to Talladega this Thursday night; the show begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Ritz Theatre downtown on the square. Come early for a t-shirt and a good seat!

The next video will be on the server by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow...