Don’t let the snow totals fool you, forecasters are warning.
Snow is expected to fall on parts of Alabama on Tuesday, and where it does fall could be a nightmare for anyone venturing out on the roads.
The National Weather Service is warning of possible “significant impacts” where snow does fall and has issued winter weather advisories for a good portion of the state.
They have been expanded as of Monday afternoon and now stretch all the way into south Alabama, where now up to a half-inch will be possible.
The advisories will go into effect on Tuesday.
A winter storm watch had been issued for part of central Alabama, but that was changed to a winter weather advisory on Monday afternoon.
That is not a downgrade, according to the National Weather Service.
“We’re telling everybody that it’s not a downgrade. Some people think that going from a watch to an advisory is a downgrade but it’s not,” Gerald Satterwhite, a meteorologist at the weather service in Birmingham, said Monday afternoon.
“The watch meant we were kind of keeping an eye on the potential for there to be winter weather impacts, but now that we’re more certain that will occur we’ve gone to an advisory.”
Why not a winter storm warning instead?
“The reason we have an advisory instead of a warning is just because of the amount of snow we expect,” Satterwhite said. “Our winter weather advisory criteria is for a quarter inch to 2 inches of snow, and a warning is 2 or more inches of snow.”
The accumulation forecasts aren’t on the high side — generally an inch or less for north and parts of central and southwest Alabama. However some sports in north or central Alabama could get up to 2 inches.
Temperatures are expected to remain below freezing in north and parts of central Alabama, causing some or most of the snow to stick to roads and remain there for many hours, causing hazardous travel conditions.
“Just because these amounts seem low does not mean they will not cause significant impacts,” the weather service in Huntsville said in its Monday forecast discussion.
“It’s going to be very cold outside. So the snow will stick and it’s likely that it will stick to the roads. Given the warmer conditions today, there’s a potential for the snow to initially melt on contact and then refreeze in the colder temperatures. So don’t let the low snow totals fool you.”
Tuesday’s anticipated snow event won’t be exactly like the so-called “Snowpocalypse” in 2014, but there could be similarities.
In 2014 a flash freeze combined with light snowfall turned roads into ice rinks across central and parts of north Alabama, stranding many in their cars overnight in temperatures that fell into the teens and 20s.
On Tuesday snow is expected to fall, and temperatures will already be at or below freezing when it does. However, today’s “warmer” temperatures could help keep roads warmer, allowing the first precipitation to melt and then refreeze on roadways.
The cause of it all is a strong cold front that is expected to enter the state starting tonight. Snow is expected to fall along and behind the front in the sharply colder air that follows.
It will be cold enough for what falls to be all snow, according to forecasters, except for southwest Alabama where a wintry mix will also be possible. A winter weather advisory was expanded on Monday afternoon to include parts of southwest Alabama as well.
The weather service in Tallahassee said there were no plans as of Monday afternoon to put a winter weather advisory in place for southeast Alabama, but that could change later tonight when new data come in.
Snowfall amounts statewide aren’t anticipated to be high — the highest amounts could be less than 2 inches — but what does fall could hang around for a while.
The weather service cautions that uncertainty still remains on how much snow will fall and where the heaviest snow will end up.
“We’re still keeping a very close eye on the amount of precipitation that’s going to occur,” Satterwhite said. “We still can’t rule out there being just a hair more moisture with the system that could push totals a little bit higher.”
Not everyone will see snow. North and north-central Alabama are the most likely places to get accumulating snowfall, according to the weather service. However, snow will be possible into south Alabama as well.
A wintry mix will be possible for parts of southwest Alabama on Tuesday afternoon, and now up to a half inch will be possible, according to the weather service in Mobile. Isolated areas could even get up to 1 inch, forecasters said.
Southeast Alabama could see light snow or flurries on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, but no accumulation and no impact is expected, according to the weather service in Tallahassee, Fla.
The snow could begin before sunrise in northwest Alabama and spread to the south and east during the day on Tuesday, coming to an end Wednesday morning.
Temperatures on Wednesday won’t rise above freezing in many spots in north and north-central Alabama, and Wednesday night promises to be frigid, with lows in the teens and 20s statewide.
Alabama should begin to thaw out by Thursday, with highs above freezing expected statewide.
Here’s a look at the watches and advisories for Alabama:
NORTH ALABAMA
There are separate winter weather advisories for north Alabama with different timeframes.
Winter weather advisory 1: Tuesday from 3 a.m. until 6 p.m. for Lauderdale, Colbert and Franklin counties.
Winter weather advisory 2: Tuesday from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. for Madison, Morgan, Marshall, Jackson, DeKalb and Cullman counties.
Snow accumulations are expected to generally be up to 1 inch.
CENTRAL ALABAMA
Winter weather advisory: All of central Alabama will be under a winter weather advisory from 6 a.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday. That’s a change from the winter storm watch issued earlier Monday.
The weather service in Birmingham said as of Monday the best chance for accumulating snow appears to be along and north of a line from Demopolis to Clanton to Wedowee.
Snowfall amounts are expected to remain less than 2 inches, but “impacts to travel could be significant” because temperatures will fall into the 20s along with the snow.
Hard freeze watch: From Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning.
Temperatures are expected to fall to between 10 and 24 degrees by Wednesday morning.
SOUTH ALABAMA
Winter weather advisory: A winter weather advisory has been expanded into southwest Alabama as of Monday afternoon, according to the weather service in Mobile.
It will be in effect from noon Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday.
The counties affected are: Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Wilcox, Monroe, Conecuh, Butler, Crenshaw, Escambia, Covington, inland Mobile and Baldwin and central Mobile and Baldwin.
A wintry mix of light rain, sleet, and snow will gradually turn into light snow across the region late Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night, the weather service said.
Less than a half inch of snow is expected but isolated totals over one inch cannot be ruled out.
Hard freeze warning: From midnight until 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The counties in the hard freeze warning are: Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Wilcox, Monroe, Conecuh, Butler, Crenshaw, and inland Mobile and Baldwin.
Temperatures are expected to fall into the upper teens to near 20 over southwest Alabama, according to the weather service in Mobile.
Wind chill advisory: A wind chill advisory will be in effect on Wednesday from midnight until 10 a.m. for the same areas.
The weather service said wind chills could fall into the single digits late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.