MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The end of March and beginning of April will differ substantially here in Central Alabama. We will go from rainy and stormy with highs in the 80s to dry, sunny and much colder. That abrupt change our weather will come courtesy of a potent cold front set to push through the state Wednesday afternoon and evening. That front will have the ingredients necessary to produce not only thunderstorms, but a low threat of severe weather as well.
Wednesday will start with a small chance of showers north of U.S. 80, but most of us will be dry during the morning hours as temperatures warm quickly into the lower 80s -- possibly a few mid-80s southeast of Montgomery.
Then the strong cold front will barrel into the region from the northwest, bringing a line of rain and thunderstorms with it. We will have enough energy, heat, moisture, and lift to support some strong to severe wind gusts and hail to 1″ in diameter along that line. The line of storms will move into our northwest counties around 1-2 p.m. and clear our southeastern zones by 8 p.m. or so.
Wind shear values are very low, so the risk of tornadoes is near zero.
Outside of the storms, it will be breezy with wind gusts of 15-25 mph expected throughout the day.
Once the cold front and rain come to an end, much colder air will pour in. Temps will be in the upper 30s to lower 40s by Thursday morning. Gusty winds will make it feel even colder in the lower 30s!
But it gets even colder than that with high pressure in control. Lows will fall to 34° Friday morning and 36° Saturday morning. That will result in widespread frost Friday and scattered frost Saturday.
The afternoons will be delightful, though, with ample sunshine, calm winds and highs around 60° on Thursday and 63° on Friday. Temps to moderate for Easter weekend as we start to see southerly flow return to Alabama.
Look for upper 60s under partly cloudy skies on Saturday and mid-70s under mostly sunny skies for Easter Sunday!
Copyright 2021 WSFA 12 News. All rights reserved.