A powerful cold front will be the dominant weather story for the northern Gulf Coast this weekend, bringing a sharp change from mild conditions to winter-like cold in a matter of hours.
Saturday will feel relatively pleasant ahead of the front, with high temperatures climbing up to around 70 degrees, and a few spots possibly reaching the low 70s. Skies will feature a mix of clouds and sunshine, and while the day will not be a washout, there may be a brief, light shower as the front approaches. Any rain would be brief and is unlikely Saturday, so keep any outdoor plans.
The front itself is expected to move through the area early Sunday morning. As it passes, there will be a small chance for a little rain around daybreak, but the bigger impact will be the dramatic change in temperatures and wind. Winds will shift sharply to the north and increase quickly, blowing at 15 to 25 mph with higher gusts at times. Afternoon highs on Sunday will struggle to reach the 50s, and it will feel even colder due to the strong wind.
Cold air will continue pouring into the region Sunday night, setting the stage for the coldest temperatures of the season so far. Lows by Monday morning are expected to fall into the 20s across much of the area, with wind chill values dipping into the teens in some locations.
In its discussion Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service out of Mobile, AL said, “…we continue to support temperatures being the coldest of the year. Probabilities of air temperatures less than 20 degrees are floating around 50-70 percent mainly north of highway 84 and probabilities of less than 25 degrees above 80% almost to the immediate coastline. Given the current trends getting colder and colder with each run and the fact that guidance tends to struggle with these shallow arctic airmasses, it is probably a pretty safe bet we will see a round of cold weather products Sunday night into Monday. On top of the cold temperatures we will likely see gusty winds behind the front leading to wind chills in the teens all the way to the coast. Both the air temperatures and wind chills would warrant cold weather advisories at the least and we will have to continue to monitor for the potential for some extreme cold products for wind chills.”…