textproduct: Huntsville

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 856 PM CDT Sun Apr 19 2026

- An unsettled pattern will develop next weekend bringing additional chances for rain and storms.

NEAR TERM

(Rest of tonight and Monday) Issued at 856 PM CDT Sun Apr 19 2026

Calm and clear conditions will prevail through the near term. Surface high pressure will continue to build and shift slightly east, placing the high pressure center squarely over the TN Valley. Tonight, this will keep skies clear and suppress winds, ideal conditions for radiational cooling. Temps will drop down into the mid to low 40s and perhaps upper 30s in terrain locations.

Through the day tomorrow, two surface high pressure areas will merge with the new high pressure center developing over the Ohio Valley. This will do little to change the airmass and moderate temperatures keeping highs refined to the mid 70s. Without any airmass change, dew points will remain low with min RH near 30% tomorrow afternoon. Fortunately winds will remain light decreasing any fire weather concerns.

SHORT TERM

(Monday night through Wednesday) Issued at 856 PM CDT Sun Apr 19 2026

Through the short term, surface high pressure will shift to east towards the mid Atlantic. This will locally induce a return flow pattern and jump start a WAA regime through the remainder of the week. Highs will warm to the low 80s by Wednesday with dew points rebounding into the high 40s.

Aloft, a more zonal pattern will develop in the central CONUS ahead of a building ridge in the southern Plains. Come Wednesday, a shortwave will slide along the leading edge of the ridge and across the Gulf coast. Cloud cover will increase Tuesday night in association with this feature however the shortwave will be too far to our south to illicit any additional impacts. As the ridge aloft builds and pushes the shortwave SE, NW flow aloft will redevelop, aiding in clearing skies by mid day Wednesday. Clear and calm conditions will return through the remainder of the day on Wednesday making for a pleasant late spring day ahead of a pattern shift in the long term forecast.

LONG TERM

(Wednesday night through Sunday) Issued at 856 PM CDT Sun Apr 19 2026

Upper level ridging begins to move into the Southeast during the second half of the work week. With sfc high pressure located across GA/SC, southerly flow will advect in a warm and moist airmass into the Tennessee Valley. Locally, this results in a gradual warming trend in temperatures, but also a much more noticeable increase in dewpoints. Afternoon highs Thursday and Friday rise into the mid 80s with dewpoints increasing from the lower 50s on Thursday to lower 60s by Friday evening. The dry pattern comes to an end by this weekend as troughing to our west shifts eastward allowing for several shortwaves to ripple through the local forecast area. The first of these disturbances arrives Friday evening/Saturday morning, which will bring a medium chance (45-65%) of showers and thunderstorms to the area. A more substantial system moves through this weekend and will be something to keep an eye on for severe storms. Joint probabilities of shear greater than 30 knots and CAPE exceeding 1000 J/kg have increased to around 30 percent. Various machine learning algorithms also show low probabilities of severe storms. At this time it is too early to pin down an exact timeframe of the most likely period for showers and thunderstorms will be 6-7 days out. However, it is April and this is typically one of our most active months for severe storms. Check back for updates as details for the weekend storm becomes better resolved.

AVIATION

(00Z TAFS) Issued at 534 PM CDT Sun Apr 19 2026

VFR conditions will prevail at both terminals through the duration of the period.

HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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