Frosty weekend on the way for Huntsville
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Chilly weather arrives this weekend in Huntsville.
Why it matters: The first widespread frost is a few weeks late, but it looks like fall weather is here — more or less.
The latest: Eleven North Alabama counties, including Madison and its neighbors, are under a freeze watch from midnight to 8am tomorrow, with temperatures as low as 27° possible.
- Temperatures could kill crops or other sensitive vegetation and damage unprotected outdoor plumbing, it says.
What they're saying: "Frosts and freezes are appearing increasingly likely Saturday morning and Sunday mornings," Kris White, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Huntsville, told Axios.
- The best chances for a widespread freeze are on Sunday morning, he said, as a continental cold air mass moves south from Canada, bringing dry air with that autumnal feeling.
By the numbers: The forecast calls for a high near 52° Friday, with a low Friday night of around 32°.
- Saturday morning, the forecast calls for "widespread frost, mainly before 7am," and a high near 53° with a low around 31°.
- Going into next week, highs hover in the upper 50s and low 60s, and lows in the low- to mid-30s.
Context: Some areas in North Alabama, namely Russellville and Moulton, saw freezing temperatures on Nov. 9, White said, but otherwise the region is a little behind schedule on its normal first freeze date.
- Huntsville's average first freeze is Nov. 2, NWS data shows, with the average first hard freeze on Nov. 12.
- Temperatures in general are below normal for this time of year, though, with NWS data listing the mid-60s as normal highs this time of year, and low 40s as normal lows.
Zoom out: "We do need rain in this area," White said, and aside from chances of light rain in Tennessee on Thursday night, it doesn't look like this front will bring any.
- As of Nov. 12, Madison County was split between three different drought levels, per NWS, from abnormally dry in the southern part of the county to severe drought in the northern part.
What we're watching: In the longer term, temperatures are trending warmer, White said, with above-normal temperatures looking more likely heading toward Thanksgiving.