textproduct: Huntsville

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 924 PM CST Fri Jan 23 2026

- Moderate impacts are expected for far northwest Alabama and minor impacts elsewhere from early Saturday morning through Sunday evening.

- An Ice Storm Warning has been issued for Lauderdale, Colbert and Franklin counties in NW AL from 12 AM Saturday - 6 PM Sunday, with a Winter Weather Advisory in effect elsewhere.

- Dangerously cold temperatures are expected Sunday into Tuesday, with morning wind chills between -5 and 5F.

NEAR TERM

(Rest of tonight and Saturday) Issued at 924 PM CST Fri Jan 23 2026

The overnight hours will be largely uneventful as we await the arrival of cooler air from strong high pressure to our north and moisture from an approaching surface low to our SW. Moisture advection ahead of the surface low in NW AL will be ongoing overnight allowing for a gradual increase in PoPs through sunrise. Cold air looks to be in place area wide after midnight, thus precip is forecast to start as a mix of snow and sleet in NW AL as early as 4 AM. Onset timing elsewhere looks to be delayed by a few hours as additional moisture advection aloft in eastern areas looks necessary in order for any precip to actually reach the ground.

Come mid morning, areas of west of I-65 will be seeing fairly steady snow/sleet mix with areas east of I-65 seeing light pockets of a rain/sleet mix as the precip shield continues to slowly shift east. No significant accumulations are forecast from early morning winter precip. The highest precip chances will arrive mid afternoon with 70-100% chances for precip in place through Sunday afternoon. This is the window where we will see the most significant ice accumulations and potential flooding concerns. Precip is forecast to transition to freezing rain in NW AL and all rain elsewhere as a warm nose aloft nudges into the TN Valley. The exact depth and NW geographic extent of the warm nose will largely determine our ice accumulation totals in NW AL. Current thinking is the rain vs freezing rain line will set up somewhere between Rogersville and Florence. Areas west of this line will see between 0.25" to 0.50"+ of ice accumulation from Saturday afternoon through late Saturday night. An Ice Storm Warning remains in effect for Lauderdale, Colbert, and Franklin AL through Sunday night. Areas east of this line will see steady rain and perhaps a few rumbles of thunder for our SE counties. The steady precip in the form of freezing rain for NW AL and rain elsewhere will continue into the short term with the remainder of the system being addressed below.

SHORT TERM

(Saturday night through Monday) Issued at 924 PM CST Fri Jan 23 2026

Rain and freezing rain in NW AL will be ongoing at the start of the short term. At the surface, models continue to support the NW progression of the warm nose in addition to warming the entire column above freezing. This will in turn transition the whole area to rain somewhere between 00-03Z on Sunday. Rain looks to continue the whole night, hopefully working to melt any ice accumulations in NW AL. The warm surface air will prevail through the morning with lows likely teetering right around and just above freezing Sunday morning. Rain looks to continue for a majority of the area with two narrow areas of freezing rain possible. The first will again be in NW AL as the rain vs freezing rain line looks to again develop, this time closer to the MS state line. The second area to watch will be NE AL, where CAD from the east my provide a sufficient enough cooling of the column to produce freezing rain. Between those two locations, 90-100% rain chances are forecast. The prolonged high rain chances will raise some flooding concerns with rises on rivers, creeks, and streams likely. While flash flooding is unlikely due to the rain falling over the span of about 24 hours, ponding of water in low lying areas as well as some localized drainage issues will be of concern.

The actual surface low will pass just to our south through the day on Sunday. As the low passes, the warm air will be dragged eastward with it prompting a brief switch back to sleet/snow for the most area from Sunday midday through Sunday evening when precip chances will cease. Behind the surface low, gusty winds are forecast with gusts of 20+ MPH forecast. This will aid in a swift influx of cool dry air from the north from Sunday night into Monday. Temperatures will plunge into the teens come Monday morning. With the gusty winds, apparent temperatures will be near or just below 0 degrees area wide. As such a Cold Weather Advisory will likely be issued in the next two forecast cycles. Of equal importance, the swift entrance of cold air raises concern for black ice development. While gusty winds will aid in drying out the roads, any liquid from significant rainfall on Sunday will freeze overnight creating black ice by Monday morning. While it is hard to pinpoint exactly which locations may be of greatest risk to black ice, it will be important that everyone be mindful of the risk come Monday morning if venturing out. Any ice on the road unfortunately will not be melted naturally from Monday high temperatures as temps won't even make it above 30 degrees. As such, if venturing out on Monday make sure to dress appropriately and be prepared for black ice both in the morning and when returning in the afternoon.

AVIATION

(00Z TAFS) Issued at 520 PM CST Fri Jan 23 2026

VFR conditions will prevail through around 12Z. After 12Z winter precip will begin to enter the area from the WSW. Currently we have a wintry mix of snow and sleet arriving just after 12Z at MSL and after around 13Z at HSV. Heavier precip will arrive at both terminals after 18Z with MSL likely seeing a switch from SNPL to FZRA between 18-20Z. HSV on the other hand will likely see a switch from SNPL to RA. With the heavier precip, ceilings and visibilities are forecast to drop to low MVFR. The low MVFR conditions and heavier precip are forecast to continue beyond 00Z into the next TAF period.

AVIATION

(06Z TAFS) Issued at 1151 PM CST Fri Jan 23 2026

Mid/high altitude clouds from a winter weather system forming well to our west continued overspreading the TN Valley. Precip from the system should reach KMSL before daybreak, and KHSV a couple of hours later. With surface temps at or below freezing, expect the precip to start as snow, but should transition to a wintry mix consisting of snow/ice pellets/freezing rain. The precip should become mainly freezing rain over NW AL, but transition to all liquid for locations east of KMSL. Have left precip at KMSL frozen for this issuance, however there is a brief window to an all liquid phase late Sat evening. NE winds of 10-15 kt with stronger gusts into the early morning, should decrease to 5-10kt as we go into the afternoon/evening.

CLIMATE

Issued at 413 PM CST Fri Jan 23 2026

High Risk for Much Below Normal Temperatures:

The Climate Prediction Center has included the entire Tennessee Valley in a High Risk for Much Below Normal Temperatures between January 31, 2026 through February 1, 2026. Therefore, there is greater than a 60% chance for temperatures below 17-20 degrees F during this period.

More information on the CPC U.S. Hazards Outlook can be found at:

https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/threats/threats.php

HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

AL...Ice Storm Warning until 6 PM CST Sunday for ALZ001>003.

Winter Weather Advisory until 6 PM CST Sunday for ALZ004>010-016.

TN...Winter Weather Advisory until 6 PM CST Sunday for TNZ076-096-097.