textproduct: Huntsville

KEY MESSAGES

Issued at 216 AM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

- Cooler than normal temperatures will continue through the week with dangerous cold returning this weekend.

- A low chance of wintry precipitation exists Friday through Saturday morning. No accumulations or impacts are forecast at this time.

NEAR TERM

(Today) Issued at 216 AM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

Mostly clear, calm, and cold conditions are prevailing early this morning with high pressure at the surface in control of our weather. Temperatures have fallen into the lower 20s in most locations as of 08z, with a few readings in the upper Teens on the table before daybreak. The clear/calm conditions could result in some very localized freezing fog near bodies of water, but think this will be very limited in scope and will dissipate quickly after sunrise. While we largely remain in zonal flow aloft a fast-moving shortwave will eject from the Southern Plains into the lower Mississippi Valley today. Ahead of this feature, cloud cover will steadily in increase by the mid/late morning and through the afternoon hours. These clouds will limit our heating potential somewhat, though think there will be enough breaks to allow the mercury to rise into the low to mid 40s by the afternoon.

SHORT TERM

(Thursday Night through Saturday Night) Issued at 953 PM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

The short term period, especially Friday through Saturday night, will be comprised of dangerously cold temperatures as well as a low chance (10-30%) of wintry precipitation mainly over northeast Alabama and into southern middle Tennessee.

Aloft, a positively tilted trough looks to pivot from the Great Lakes region down into the Southeast towards the Carolinas by Saturday evening. As has been the trend the past few model runs, this feature is shown to evolve into a cutoff low on Saturday and then slated to skirt northeast over the eastern seaboard through Sunday. At the surface, a low pressure system is shown to develop over Oklahoma/Texas and move towards the Mississippi River Valley through Thursday night. The exact trajectory of this low may change in the coming days; but, at this time, it looks to dive down over the Deep South towards the northeastern Gulf coast on Friday. Coincident with the aforementioned upper low, this surface low just off the east coast will move north through the weekend. Meanwhile, while the surface low moves off over the Atlantic on Saturday, stout high pressure will punch south from Canada over the south-central CONUS and eventually build eastward into the Southeast through Sunday night.

Thus, with the position of the surface low, we could see some wintry precipitation Friday into early Saturday morning. Model clusters are sort of split between little to no snowfall and measurable snowfall over portions of northeast Alabama and southern middle Tennessee by Saturday. We'll keep an eye on the trends, but some ensembles have come in ever so slightly higher with snowfall probabilities, especially over portions of southern middle Tennessee. Ultimately, there remains a low chance (10-30%) for northeast Alabama and southern middle Tennessee at this time.

The other thing we'll need to monitor are increasing temperatures through the day on Friday. Highs are forecast to reach the upper 30s to lower 40s for most spots. This may lead to mixed precipitation at points as temperatures warm to the freezing mark and above Friday morning then decrease back to below freezing early Friday evening. Our current forecast calls for a combination of light rain/drizzle and snow/flurries, but there is the potential for freezing drizzle as well for a brief periods Friday morning and again late Friday afternoon. Although, as temperatures increase through the day and winds pick up, any slick spots may be short-lived in the morning. Any concern may therefore be moreso Friday evening, since temperatures are expected to plummet by this time. Any light precipitation should quickly change over to snow, but there may be a few slick spots remaining. The caveat is that our forecast precipitation amounts from Friday through Saturday are little to none, so there may not be enough drizzle/freezing drizzle to cause many impacts. Even so, this warrants monitoring. Please keep checking back for updates!

In addition to the wintry precipitation concern, the high pressure will bring with it very cold air, leading to a frigid forecast for Friday night through Saturday night. Forecast highs Saturday are in the lower to mid 20s, with lows Friday and Saturday night in the teens. These highs are nearly 30 degrees colder than normal with the lows about 20 degrees below normal as well. As stated before, winds will also pick up as the pressure gradient tightens, with gusts up to 20-30 mph at times (especially on Saturday). The wind will make conditions feel that much colder and our forecast calls for wind chills generally between -5F and 5F. Therefore, confidence is high that a Cold Weather Advisory will be needed for Friday and Saturday nights. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer in time, but please make sure to bundle up with clothing appropriate for the extreme cold. Protect people, pets, pipes, and plants!

LONG TERM

(Sunday through Wednesday) Issued at 953 PM CST Wed Jan 28 2026

At the start of the long term period, a deep upper level trough is positioned across the eastern third of the CONUS with its base stretched all the way down to the Gulf Coast. Despite ample sunshine due to a high pressure system overhead, strong CAA will limit temperatures from rising above the upper 20s to around freezing Sunday afternoon. The good news is that sfc winds will be light so wind chills will only be a few degrees below the air temperatures. Light winds and mostly clear skies Sunday night allow for ideal radiational cooling dropping overnight lows into the mid teens.

As we head into the upcoming work week, the upper level trough axis shifts east allowing for ridging to our west to build in across the Tennessee Valley. This will result in a gradual warming trend through the middle of the week. Expect highs on Monday to reach the lower 40s and then climb into the upper 40s Tuesday and Wednesday. Overnight lows will still be on the cooler side with temperatures in the lower 20s Monday night then the lower 30s Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the relatively warmer air will come with some low to medium rain chances by the middle of the week. Model guidance has a shortwave trough ejecting eastward from southern Texas towards the Tennessee Valley Tuesday night into Wednesday. Timing in this system is still uncertain and as a result a very low chance of some light wintry mix would occur if the cold air and precip align. However, impacts at this time appear minimal with light rain being the predominant precip type.

AVIATION

(12Z TAFS) Issued at 515 AM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

VFR conditions will be the predominant flight category at each terminal today with light winds and some passing mid/high clouds. However, have included a TEMPO at MSL through 14z to account for some MVFR reductions in visibilities from light fog early this morning. Late in the period (after Midnight), low clouds will move into the region from the west, dropping ceilings to MVFR levels.

HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

AL...None. TN...None.