ALL RIGHT. WE CONTINUE TO TRACK THE WINTER STORM THREAT NOW JUST HOURS AWAY. LET’S GET OVER TO CHIEF METEOROLOGIST JASON SIMPSON FOR ANOTHER LOOK AT THE TIMING OF THIS WEATHER THAT’S MOVING IN. WELL, WE’RE ABOUT TWO, 2.5 HOURS FROM SLEET AND SNOW AND RAIN BEGINNING OVER WEST ALABAMA. WE MAY SEE A FEW PELLETS HERE AND THERE, BUT A LOT OF EVAPORATION IS OCCURRING WEST OF INTERSTATE 65 RIGHT NOW. SO IT’S A MIX. IT COMES IN AFTER MIDNIGHT. AND FOR SOME OF US, TRAVEL MAY BE REALLY TOUGH. EARLY IN THE MORNING ABOUT A HALF HOUR AGO. THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE ON INTERSTATE 30, CLOSE TO SOCIAL HILL, ARKANSAS. THAT’S ABOUT 50 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LITTLE ROCK. INTERSTATE 30 WAS COMPLETELY BACKED UP. THINGS HAVE IMPROVED THERE SINCE THAT TIME. BUT THIS IS THE KIND OF THING THAT’S HAPPENING TO OUR WEST AT THE MOMENT. AND THERE IS A PIPELINE OF MOISTURE RUNNING INTO THIS COLD AIR OVER NORTHEAST TEXAS, SOUTHWESTERN ARKANSAS. THERE MAY BE A FEW PLACES OVER HERE IN SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS THAT GET CLOSE TO A FOOT OF SNOW. OUT OF THIS. WE WILL NOT GET QUITE THAT MUCH. THE AIR HERE HAS HAD SOME TIME TO MODERATE A LITTLE BIT. WE’RE IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S RIGHT NOW, AND A LOT OF THIS IS NOT REACHING THE GROUND. BUT AS IT BEGINS TO YOU WILL SEE SOME SLEET PELLETS, A LITTLE RAIN MIX IN AND MAYBE A FEW SNOWFLAKES NOW AND THEN. TWO OFFICIALLY IN BIRMINGHAM, 2590 DAYS WITHOUT AN INCH OF SNOW IN A SINGLE DAY. WILL WE GET AT THIS TIME? THE ANSWER IS MAYBE. IT’S VERY CLOSE FOR THE OFFICIAL REPORTING STATION ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM. THIS IS WHAT OUR FORECAST GUIDANCE LOOKS LIKE AT ABOUT 2 A.M. SO A LITTLE MORE THAN 2.5 HOURS FROM NOW, YOU’VE GOT A AREA OF SNOW OVER THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF ALABAMA. SLEET, RAIN AND FREEZING RAIN OVER THE WEST AND SOUTHWESTERN COUNTIES THAT STARTS TO MOVE TOWARD THE NORTHEAST. AND THIS IS MAINLY A MORNING EVENT FOR JEFFERSON, SHELBY, TUSCALOOSA, BIBB, CHILTON, GREENE, HALE AND PICKENS. IT WILL EXTEND ON PAST SUNRISE AND TALLADEGA COUNTY AND CALHOUN, ETOWAH, CHEROKEE, SAINT CLAIR, BLOUNT, CULLMAN. IN FACT, FOR CULLMAN, WINSTON, MARION, BLOUNT, CHEROKEE, ETOWAH, AND NORTHWARD. IT’S BASICALLY AN ALL DAY AFFAIR BECAUSE WE JUST GET WARM ENOUGH TO MAYBE TURN IT OVER TO A LITTLE BIT OF LIGHT RAIN. BUT WITH TEMPERATURES HOLDING IN THE LOW 30S, THAT’S NOT GOING TO HELP TO MELT THINGS ALL THAT MUCH. AND IN BIRMINGHAM, WE SHOULD GET ENOUGH RAIN THAT MOST OF THE STREETS ARE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE. BY 1:00 IN THE AFTERNOON. THERE WILL STILL BE SOME OCCASIONAL SLEET AND SNOW SHOWERS THROUGH LATE FRIDAY INTO EARLY SATURDAY, AND THAT MAY HELP TO COAT THE GROUND AND CAUSE A FEW SLICK SPOTS NOW AND THEN. EVEN AFTER THE MAIN STORM HAS PASSED THROUGH. SO HERE’S WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. ABOUT 2 TO 4IN OF TOTAL ACCUMULATION. WHAT DO I MEAN BY TOTAL? WELL, THAT SNOW AND SLEET. SO THAT WOULD BE HEAVIEST IN NORTH ALABAMA, MAINLY NORTH OF HIGHWAY 278. THERE WILL BE ABOUT AN INCH OR TWO OF A SNOW SLEET COMBO. HAMILTON TO CULLMAN, ONEONTA GADSDEN CENTRE. HIGHER AMOUNTS ON LOOKOUT AND SAND MOUNTAINS, ESPECIALLY THOSE HIGHER PEAKS. SAME THING FOR BRINDLEE MOUNTAIN FOR THE BIRMINGHAM METRO AREA. WE GO FROM A PRETTY GOOD ROUND OF SLEET AND SNOW IN FAR NORTH JEFFERSON COUNTY TO WHAT MAY JUST BE A SLOPPY, SLUSHY KIND OF MORNING AROUND BESSEMER AND MCCALLA INTO HOOVER AND THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF VESTAVIA HILLS, DOWN INTO NORTH SHELBY COUNTY, AROUND ALABASTER AND CHELSEA. SLEET, SNOW AND RAIN WILL ADD UP TO GENERALLY LESS THAN AN INCH OF TOTAL ACCUMULATION HERE, AND THE WEATHER WILL START IMPROVING FASTER IN SHELBY COUNTY. AND THEN IT’S MAINLY RAIN TO THE SOUTHWEST OF EUTAW AND GREENSBORO TOWARD DEMOPOLIS. SO LET’S LOOK SPECIFICALLY HERE IN THE METRO AREA. GREATEST IMPACT AROUND WARRIOR. OVER TO TRAFFORD AND PALMERDALE. LESS OF AN IMPACT, BUT STILL, THERE MAY BE SOME ROADS THAT ARE TOUGH TO NAVIGATE BETWEEN NINE AND NOON, ESPECIALLY FROM ADAMSVILLE TO TARRANT TO TRUSSVILLE. AND THEN YOU GET SOUTH OF HUEYTOWN, BESSEMER, GREYSTONE. MEADOWBROOK. IT LOOKS A LITTLE SLUSHY NOW AND THEN OVER SHELBY COUNTY, BUT I THINK THE WEATHER WILL IMPROVE INTO THE AFTERNOON. IT MAY NOT BE THAT WAY THROUGH LATE TOMORROW NIGHT THOUGH, AS TEMPERATURES FALL BACK BELOW FREEZING. GREATEST IMPACT TO THE NORTH. LEAST IMPACT TO THE SOUTH. WHEN IT COMES TO DRIVING. USE CAUTION WHEREVER YOU GO TOMORROW BECAUSE IT IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHERE SOME PLACES ARE ICY AND SOME PLACES ARE NOT. IN THE MORNING, WE’LL BE CLOSE TO 30. IN THE AFTERNOON, ONLY AROUND 34 TO 35. IT’S AN ALERT DAY BECAUSE WE COULD HAVE HAZARDOUS TRAVEL ALL DAY AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY, AND SOME ROADS WILL BE OKAY AND OTHERS COULD BE IN REALLY ROUGH SHAPE. WE’LL KEEP THE LINGERING ISSUES IN PLACE ON SATURDAY. KEEP THAT AS AN ALERT DAY. THE HIGH ONLY 3642 ON SUNDAY. IT WILL FEEL LIKE A HEAT WAVE ON MONDAY, GETTING UP TO 45 AND THEN ANOTHER POP OF VERY COLD AIR HITS TUESDAY WEDNESDAY. THAT WILL PUSH US DOWN TO 19 DEGREES ON TUESDAY MORNING, AND THEN WE WARM UP SLIGHTLY TOWARD THE END OF NEXT WEEK. BUT EVEN BEYOND THIS WINTER STORM, THERE IS NO CHANCE WE’RE WARMING UP SIGNIFICANTLY
Winter weather travel: How to check your flights in Alabama and Atlanta for delays, cancellations
THE LATEST TIMING | STATE OF EMERGENCY | SCHOOL CLOSURES | WARMING SHELTERS | DEADLY COLD | NATIONAL GUARD RESPONSE | SNOW IN ALABAMA | WVTM 13 LIVE DOPPLER RADAR | HOW TO GET WEATHER ALERTS | UPLOAD YOUR WEATHER PHOTOSWatch the latest forecast in the video above.A State of Emergency and a Winter Storm Warning have been issued as Alabama prepares for winter weather.Counties included in the Winter Storm Warning are Cullman, Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Winston, Walker, Blount, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, St. Clair, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, AL, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Marshall, Jackson and DeKalb.Heavy snow mixed with periods of sleet and freezing rain will move in late Thursday night through Friday. Total snow and sleet accumulations between 1 and 3 inches and ice accumulations up to one-tenth of an inch are forecast for areas under a Winter Storm Warning.Severe weather like this can have a major impact on travel, especially air travel.Hundreds of flights were canceled by Thursday morning in Dallas, according to tracking platform FlightAware, with more than 3,800 delays and 1,800 cancellations reported nationally, including dozens out of Birmingham.Check your flightsWVTM 13 has compiled a list of airports so that you can check your flights easily.Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International AirportArrivalsDepartures Dothan Regional AirportFlight StatusHartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International AirportSecurity wait timesFlight statusHuntsville International AirportArrivals and DeparturesMobile International AirportFlight StatusMobile Regional AirportFlight StatusMontgomery Regional AirportFlight StatusNorthwest Alabama Regional AirportFlight StatusThe timing of this week’s severe winter weatherThe Winter Storm Warning begins Friday morning at midnight and continues through Saturday morning at 6 a.m. The Winter Weather Advisory begins Friday morning at midnight and continues through 3 p.m. on Friday.The type of winter weather (sleet, snow, freezing rain etc.) will heavily depend on how fast warmer air filters into Alabama from the south. The winter storm will begin in southwest Alabama and stretch to northeast Alabama.Midnight – 10 AM: Lamar, Marion, Fayette, Bibb, Chilton, Perry, Dallas, Hale, and Greene counties.2 AM – 12 PM: Franklin, Winston, Cullman, Blount, St. Clair, Talladega, Shelby, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Clay, and Jefferson counties.3 AM – 3 PM: Limestone, Madison, Jackson, Dekalb, Marshall, Morgan, Lawrence, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, RandolphThis article contains information from The Associated Press.
THE LATEST TIMING | STATE OF EMERGENCY | SCHOOL CLOSURES | WARMING SHELTERS | DEADLY COLD | NATIONAL GUARD RESPONSE | SNOW IN ALABAMA | WVTM 13 LIVE DOPPLER RADAR | HOW TO GET WEATHER ALERTS | UPLOAD YOUR WEATHER PHOTOS
Watch the latest forecast in the video above.
A State of Emergency and a Winter Storm Warning have been issued as Alabama prepares for winter weather.
Counties included in the Winter Storm Warning are Cullman, Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Winston, Walker, Blount, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, St. Clair, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, AL, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Marshall, Jackson and DeKalb.
Heavy snow mixed with periods of sleet and freezing rain will move in late Thursday night through Friday. Total snow and sleet accumulations between 1 and 3 inches and ice accumulations up to one-tenth of an inch are forecast for areas under a Winter Storm Warning.
Severe weather like this can have a major impact on travel, especially air travel.
Hundreds of flights were canceled by Thursday morning in Dallas, according to tracking platform FlightAware, with more than 3,800 delays and 1,800 cancellations reported nationally, including dozens out of Birmingham.
Check your flights
WVTM 13 has compiled a list of airports so that you can check your flights easily.
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport
Dothan Regional Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Huntsville International Airport
Mobile International Airport
Mobile Regional Airport
Montgomery Regional Airport
Northwest Alabama Regional Airport
The timing of this week’s severe winter weather
The Winter Storm Warning begins Friday morning at midnight and continues through Saturday morning at 6 a.m. The Winter Weather Advisory begins Friday morning at midnight and continues through 3 p.m. on Friday.
The type of winter weather (sleet, snow, freezing rain etc.) will heavily depend on how fast warmer air filters into Alabama from the south. The winter storm will begin in southwest Alabama and stretch to northeast Alabama.
- Midnight – 10 AM: Lamar, Marion, Fayette, Bibb, Chilton, Perry, Dallas, Hale, and Greene counties.
- 2 AM – 12 PM: Franklin, Winston, Cullman, Blount, St. Clair, Talladega, Shelby, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Clay, and Jefferson counties.
- 3 AM – 3 PM: Limestone, Madison, Jackson, Dekalb, Marshall, Morgan, Lawrence, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Randolph
This article contains information from The Associated Press.