Liv George Mobile 2 Scaled E1737500216259 — Snow in Alabama (The Bama Buzz)

Note: This story was published Thursday, Jan. 22 at 3PM. Check for updates from the National Weather Service for the latest forecast.

As we get closer to the weekend’s winter weather, meteorologists are starting to provide a clearer picture of what we can expect to see across Alabama.

Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service issued an ice storm warning for three counties including Lauderdale, Colbert and Franklin in the northwest corner of the state. The warning will be in effect from late Friday night into Sunday night.

NWS describes an ice storm warning as ice accumulations of at least 1/4 inch.

As of Thursday at 2PM, the northern third of the state is also been issued a Winter Weather Advisory or a Winter Storm Watch for Saturday and Sunday. The counties included are:

Winter Weather Advisory: Cullman, DeKalb, Fayette, Jackson, Lamar, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan, Walker, Winston
Winter Storm Watch: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah

“A Winter Weather Advisory is issued for a winter weather situation that causes significant inconveniences, but does not meet warning criteria. The winter weather can still be life threatening if caution is not exercised. A Winter Weather Advisory is issued if more than one type of hazardous winter weather is expected, is occurring, or is imminent.”
National Weather Service

The Winter Storm Watch just means there is more confidence in the forecasted winter weather for those counties. NWS Birmingham issues a Winter Storm Watch when one or more of the following is possible (50% or greater confidence) during the next 12 to 48 hours:

Sleet (ice pellets) accumulations 1/2″ or greater
Snowfall of 2″ or greater
Freezing rain/drizzle (ice) accumulations greater than or equal to 1/4″

Thursday afternoon, Gov. Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency for those counties, effective immediately.

“Our agency has prepared extensively for winter weather, with resources pre-staged for nearly every potential scenario. Our local EMAs continue to do an excellent job preparing their counties and municipalities through coordinated planning and proactive measures. We are in close communication with our local and state partners and stand ready to provide support as conditions change. As impacts occur, we will assess needs in real time and respond quickly to ensure communities receive the assistance they need.”
Jeff Smitherman, Alabama Emergency Management Agency Director

If your county is not included on the lists above, it’s starting to seem unlikely you will see any snow at all and even more unlikely you’ll see accumulation. However, that does not mean the winter storm will not impact you at all.

While warmer temperatures could keep it from snowing, rain is still expected for most of the state Saturday and Sunday. Then, temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s for the whole state by Sunday night.

For the northern half of the state, some areas can expect to see wind chills in the single digits Sunday and Monday (Jan. 26-27).

“The warm sector of the storm system will move north Saturday night and most of North Alabama will see rain with surface temperatures above freezing. Then temperatures will drop rapidly Sunday over the northern half of the state and there could be a period of freezing rain or even a few snowflakes before it all ends Sunday evening, A flash freeze/black ice situation is very possible over the northern half of the state Sunday night and Monday morning, which could result in hazardous travel.”
James Spann, Alabama Weather Network

Make sure you stay tuned to the National Weather Service social media pages + your local meteorologists for the latest forecasts. This could still shift so make sure to stay weather aware!