textproduct: Huntsville

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1034 PM CST Thu Jan 15 2026

- Monitoring the low probability of snow or sleet mixing in with rainfall Friday into Friday night. At this time, no accumulations or impacts are expected.

- A storm system will affect the Gulf States and Southeast Saturday night into Sunday, just to the southeast of our forecast area. There is still uncertainty regarding the northward extent of precipitation and snowfall.

- Cold temperatures will persist into early next week, with lows in the teens and 20s.

NEAR TERM

(Rest of Tonight and Friday) Issued at 1034 PM CST Thu Jan 15 2026

With high pressure firmly in place over the Deep South, a dry and mostly clear night is in store for the local area. The main story tonight will be the frigid temperatures. Currently, temperatures are in the lower to mid 20s. Forecast lows are not too much colder because return flow will increase moisture into the region very early Friday morning as a cold front advances towards the Tennessee Valley. Even so, please dress appropriately for the cold temperatures if you venture outside. Bring in your outside pets (if you're cold, they're cold too!) and remember space heater safety if you plan to use any to keep warm. Plug them into a wall outlet, keep a clear perimeter around it (3 feet), and never keep them on while sleeping.

For Friday, much of the day will will be dry with highs reaching the lower to mid 50s. Clouds will then increase by the afternoon along with rain chances (15-20%) just beginning to move into far northwest Alabama by the late afternoon. In addition, with a tightening pressure gradient ahead of the cold front, it will be breezy during the day with sustained southwest winds between 10-15 mph and gusts to around 20-25 mph. The greater rain chances will come Friday evening/night as the front moves through, which is discussed below.

SHORT TERM

(Friday Night through Sunday Night) Issued at 1034 PM CST Thu Jan 15 2026

For Friday evening and night, a line of showers is forecast to move through the Tennessee Valley, with rain chances increasing to 50-80% during this time. The latest run of the blended guidance suggests that precipitation will end before temperatures fall below freezing late Friday night, keeping all precipitation as rain. However, we'll need to keep an eye on this, since model soundings show a layer of dry air aloft which will increase evaporative cooling. Even with temperatures in the 40s, this could result in some wintry precipitation (sleet/snow) falling for some locations, similar to what some areas saw the other day. Regardless, no accumulations or impacts are anticipated. Lows are forecast to then dip into the lower to mid 30s late Friday night into early Saturday morning.

The other time frame of note is Saturday night into Sunday, as an upper shortwave trough swings over the Southeast and a Gulf surface low pressure system pushes up into the northeastern Gulf States. There continues to be a lot of uncertainty with regards to the trajectory of this low and therefore, there are questions on whether we'll be affected by any winter precipitation. If the low remains farther to our south, we'll see little to no precipitation. However, a more northward trajectory could result in at least our southeastern counties (Cullman up into NE AL) potentially seeing some wintry precipitation. As the previous shift mentioned, most of the ensembles show any winter precipitation to our south/southeast. Our current forecast follows this line of thinking, with very low to no probability of precipitation. Thus, no accumulations or impacts are forecast at this time. However, make sure to remain weather aware and keep up with the latest forecast as things can change.

Lastly, it will be chilly, especially by Saturday night and through the remainder of the weekend. Lows are expected to plummet into the teens to 20s, with highs only topping out in the 30s on Sunday. Make sure to bundle up if you head outside and protect pets, pipes and plants!

LONG TERM

(Monday through Thursday) Issued at 1034 PM CST Thu Jan 15 2026

Next week we will be stuck in the base of a broad trough that will expand across much of the CONUS. A sfc low up in the Lower Great Lakes will pull a weak cold front into the region on Monday. Ahead of the front we will be able to "warm up" into the upper 30s to lower 40s, which is still several degrees below normal. No precip is expected with the front on Monday, however it will provide a reinforcing bout of cold air as lows will be in the teens once again and highs on Tuesday will be stuck in the 30s. The trough will start to slide eastward on Wednesday and southwesterly flow will return with winds gusting towards 15kts providing WAA and some moisture return. Daytime highs will reach the upper 40s. Cloud cover will increase through the day on Wed ahead of an approaching disturbance that will later bring rainfall in the afternoon and evening hours. Low chances (20-30%) will persist overnight into Thursday as a sfc low starts to lift northeastward out of southern TX and into the Gulf. Will have to monitor temperature trends on Wed night to see if this would give us any wintry precip but temps will rise quickly on Thursday and will reach the lower 50s by the afternoon.

AVIATION

(06Z TAFS) Issued at 1104 PM CST Thu Jan 15 2026

Mostly clear skies with southerly winds 5 knots or less will continue for the remainder of the overnight. Through much of the day, the main concern will be increased southwest winds between 10-15 knots with gusts to 20-25 knots. Although, there is a brief window between roughly 13-15Z where LLWS is expected to affect the MSL terminal (southwest at 40 knots). By this evening, winds will decrease a bit and rain chances will increase (50-80%) from the northwest and bring MVFR conditions to both TAF sites. Lastly, there is an additional small window between 1-3Z where LLWS may affect the HSV terminal (southwest at 40 knots).

CLIMATE

Issued at 505 PM CST Wed Jan 14 2026

The Climate Prediction Center has included all of southern middle Tennessee and north Alabama in a Moderate Risk for Much Above Normal Precipitation for January 23rd and 24th. Therefore, there is a 40-60% chance for precipitation to exceed 1.4-1.8 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.