Icy cold there; Winter storm for southern Alabama Tuesday

From James Spann and the ABC 33/40 weather blog:

FRIGID: Here are the temperatures across Alabama early this morning, just before sunrise.

• Meridianville 12
• Fort Payne 13
• Haleyville 13
• Culman 14
• Huntsville14
• Albertville14
• Decatur 15
• Muscle benches 16
• Gadsden 17
• Jasper 18
• Birmingham 19
• Talladega 19
• Town of Pell 19
• Tuscaloosa 20
• Anniston 20
• Démopole 21
• Greenville 22
• Auburn 22
• Prattville 23
• Mobile 24/7
• Montgomery 24
• Atmore 25
• Dothan 27
• Shores of the Gulf 28

Today will be dry with good sunshine, but temperatures will remain below freezing all day in the northern half of the state.

WINTER STORM WARNING: A winter storm will impact the southern United States, from southeast Texas to eastern North Carolina, overnight through Wednesday. In Alabama, snow will fall primarily in the southern counties of the state tomorrow.

*A winter storm warning is in effect tomorrow for areas south of a line from near Butler to Demopolis through Selma, Montgomery and Phenix City. The NWS maintains a winter storm watch north of the warning area, as far north as Moundville, Centerville and Wedowee.

*Snow will begin mid to late morning over southwest Alabama, becoming widespread during the afternoon and evening, primarily south of US 80, over southern counties of the state. Some communities during the winter warning in southern Alabama could see 2 to 3 inches of snow, including Mobile. The snow should be over by midnight tomorrow evening.

*With very cold air and cold infrastructure, roads will quickly become dangerous where snow falls. Icy travel will continue through Wednesday morning. Temperatures will rise to near 40 degrees in southern Alabama Wednesday afternoon with some improvement possible, but another freeze is likely Thursday morning with icy still very possible on some roads.

*Light snowfall is possible in parts of central Alabama where the NWS maintains a winter storm watch (places like Greensboro, Clanton, Alexander City and Roanoke), but patterns are trending south. For the I-20 corridor (Tuscaloosa, Birmingham and Anniston), there is an increasing chance that there will be no snow at all tomorrow. But keep in mind that any unexpected northward movement of the Gulf Low could bring light snow, and in this very cold air mass, even amounts of 1/4 to 1/2 inch can make the quite icy roads.

*Wednesday morning will be the coldest morning of the week; lows will be in the teens statewide, and colder areas could drop into the single digits. Fortunately, afternoon highs will be in the 40s Thursday and Friday as a warning trend begins.

*Even though the system is approximately 24 hours away, this forecast is subject to change, so watch for updates today.

ALABAMA WEEKEND: While most places will be in the 20s early Saturday morning, weekend highs will be in the 50s, very close to seasonal averages for late January. Global models suggest rain will return to the state late Sunday, Sunday evening and possibly Monday.

Temperatures next week look seasonal