textproduct: Huntsville

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1008 AM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

- Medium to high rain chances return today before much colder air arrives this evening and tonight. - Monitoring Friday night for a low chance of a brief window of a rain/snow mix. No accumulations are anticipated at this time.

- Periodic rounds of much colder air are expected to continue into next weekend.

NEAR TERM

(Rest of Today and Tonight) Issued at 1008 AM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

Upon sunrise this morning the TN Valley found itself under a blanket of cloud cover ahead of an approaching front. The cloud cover truly did work as a blanket overnight trapping warmer temps at the surface with lows only dipping into the 40s. Ahead of the approaching cold front, SSW surface flow will continue through the day. This will allow for moisture from the Gulf to continue into the TN Valley supporting our medium to high rain chances through the day. Rain has already infiltrated NW AL and will continue on its march SE as the cold front progresses. Without any instability, no thunderstorms are expected.

Rain looks to send from NW to SE this evening. The remaining forecast question is if we will see any snowflakes at all on the back end of this rain. Current thinking is the dry air, specifically dry air aloft, will arrive much before the column cools enough to produce any snow. Thus we have maintained an all rain forecast. While unlikely, a few flakes could mix in with rain in southern middle TN this evening. If any flakes are observed, rest assured no accumulations are expected. Overnight, dry air will filter in quickly as winds pick up on the back side of the front. Clear conditions will allow for high teens to low 20s. With wind gusts of 25-30 MPH, wind chills will be bitterly cold in the low 10s to single digits in our terrain areas. The only good thing about the wind is it will effectively dry out our roads eliminating the threat for any ice to form from lingering wet roads from daytime rain.

SHORT TERM

(Thursday through Saturday) Issued at 1008 AM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

Our plunge into cold temps will be swift, yet brief. Cold continental air will infiltrate the area Thursday night into the day leaving us with highs barely reaching 30 despite clear skies. Fortunately, high pressure along the Gulf coast looks to progress east through the end of the week ushering the coldest and driest air out of our area. In replacement, we will enter a brief return flow pattern from late Thursday night through Friday as SSW flow returns to the area on the western periphery of surface high pressure. The return flow pattern will allow for highs to rebound significantly on Friday making it into the high 40s to low 50s. Unfortunately our cold weather relief will be short lived as another front looks to pierce the area from Friday evening into Saturday.

Unfortunately, this frontal passage offers another opportunity for forecast uncertainty regarding if we could see any winter precip on the tail end of the event. The weak front will only generate low rain chances of 15-30% from late Friday evening through Saturday morning. Again the question will be if the dry air behind the front out paces the cold air. Without HIRES model coverage going out this far, there is still a fair amount of disagreement in the models that do reach Saturday morning on if we could see any flakes of snow before sunrise. What is in model agreement is the insignificant of any snow that we do see. Even if there is a brief change over from rain to snow, no accumulations are forecast. Dry and gusty conditions will quickly take over through the day on Saturday working to dry any wet surface eliminating the threat for ice. Highs will be limited to low 40s as we again plunge into a cool and dry post frontal airmass.

LONG TERM

(Saturday through Tuesday) Issued at 935 PM CST Tue Jan 13 2026

The long term will generally consist of a CONUS-wide upper trough, with shortwaves moving along it through early next week. The main one that will impact our region looks to push through this weekend, with northwest flow then maintained through early next week. At the surface, a cold front is expected to swing over the Southeast by Saturday morning. Guidance indicates that much drier air will filter into the region behind this feature, especially by Sunday into Monday. Overall, expect no precipitation Saturday through Tuesday; however, it will be cold due to cold air advection from the northwest. Highs Saturday are forecast to be in the 40s, but with breezy conditions, temperatures will feel like they are in the 30s. In addition, temperatures are expected to plummet Saturday night into the teens to around 20 degrees! Highs on Sunday will be cold as well, not warming past the 30s. Although highs then warm into the 40s for Monday and Tuesday, lows at night will still generally be in the 20s and even dipping into the teens in some locations Monday night. Winter isn't over yet folks, so make sure to prepare for this cold weather by making sure to bundle up if heading outdoors. Protect the four Ps: People, Pets, Pipes, and Plants!

AVIATION

(18Z TAFS) Issued at 1116 AM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

Observations show ceilings between VFR and MVFR as the rain continues to move in from west to east. This will likely continue through the evening with ceilings bouncing between VFR to MVFR as clouds and rain move through. Rain looks to end around 0Z with conditions clearing to VFR shortly after. Through the whole TAF period winds will be gusty with gusts of 16-22 kts, initially from the SSW, then transitioning to NNW through the night and remaining from the NNW through the duration of the TAF period.

CLIMATE

Issued at 530 PM CST Tue Jan 13 2026

The Climate Prediction Center has included southern middle Tennessee and far northern Alabama in a Moderate Risk for Much Above Normal Precipitation for January 23rd and 24th. Therefore, there is a medium chance of precipitation exceeding 1-2 inches 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...None. TN...None.