CLANTON – Wednesday 730 am, January 21, 2026
A Winter Storm Watch is in effect north of I-20 from 6 pm Friday until 6 pm Sunday.
Rain showers will move into western Alabama late this afternoon, spread across the state Thursday and continue into early Friday. The rain will not be continuous. Up to 1 inch of total rainfall will occur across the northern half of the state with 0.5 inch or less over the southern half.
Confidence remains high for a very significant winter weather event north of I-20, with still much uncertainty about accumulations and what will occur south of I-20.
Precipitation will enter the western sections of the state Friday afternoon, with the bulk of the precipitation from Saturday through Sunday afternoon, ending Sunday evening. Between 1-2 inches of liquid precipitation is currently forecast with this system.
As of right now predictions are for significant ice accumulations from the I-20 corridor northward with higher end totals of up to 3/4 inch freezing rain possible. Some accumulating snowfall is also possible near and north of the Tennessee River. If this occurs, power outages are almost certain which could last for several days and driving conditions would be extremely hazardous.
These amounts could (and likely will) change based on location of below freezing temperatures in later model trends.
South of I-20 to a Mobile – Montgomery – Auburn line, temperatures are forecast to remain above freezing for the event, but this could change. Winter weather is not expected in the southeastern sections east of I-65 and south of I-85.
An arctic blast of cold air will filter into the state Sunday night into Monday. Low temperatures Monday morning will range from the teens north and 20s elsewhere and lows Tuesday morning will be in the single digits north of I-20 with teens and 20s elsewhere. Temperatures north of I-20 might remain below freezing from Friday night through at least Tuesday, and even with that highs will likely remain in the middle to upper 30s Tuesday.
