Colder than normal more often than not this week

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Our forecast today struggled, big time. A thick layer of low-level clouds helped keep sunshine far away from many central and south Alabama todays; at our warmest point, most only made it into the 40s (and a few lucky spots high 50°). As if it didn’t already feel cold, wind speeds upwards of 10-20 mph made it feel chillier than the number on the thermometer.

Thankfully, we are starting to see the sky clear... today may have been too little too late, but we are not anticipating cloudy conditions tonight. That means it’s a clear and cold evening with Tuesday morning temperatures dipping down into the mid/upper 20s and low 30s.

A warming trend begins tomorrow as highs head for the mid 50s under a mostly sunny to partly cloudy sky... that will feel really nice after starting our day in the 20s, but 50s are still cooler than normal by min-January standards.

Wednesday will be the warmest day of the next week and it isn’t even close - high temperatures will rise into the mid 60s ahead of an approaching cold front.

There could be a shower late in the day, but skies should stay dry.

That changes Wednesday night as the cold front pushes through the area. Rain will be a good bet for everyone Wednesday night and Thursday. There could even be some thunderstorms in the mix.

The second half of Thursday through Saturday is when models really disagree on what happens here in Alabama and neighboring states.

Some models indicate a continued chance of rain showers from late Thursday afternoon through Friday evening. Other models dry us out completely once we get to lunchtime Thursday. Then there are models that bring in a renewed chance of rain on Saturday after a mainly dry Friday.

So what does that mean for us? Well, we aren’t entirely positive on what exactly will transpire as this will be a rather complex setup with multiple moving parts. For now, we’ve added a mid-range chance of rain for late Thursday through Saturday to account for the models that do show rain during that time.

Just know that the forecast for this period is highly susceptible to changing.

What we are sure of is another blast of cold air, likely the coldest of the season so far, beginning Thursday. Highs will be in the 40s and lower 50s with overnight lows in the 20s heading through the weekend into next week.

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