Chilton County doubtful for winter weather this week
Published 6:22 pm Monday, February 23, 2015
While nothing is certain yet, the winter weather coming from an approaching storm front may not affect Chilton County, according to the National Weather Service.
“It seems it’s hovering around the Birmingham metro area,” said Kevin Laws, chief scientist with the National Weather Service. “I don’t think (Chilton County) is out of the woods.”
Laws said precipitation is expected for the county, but whether it will be liquid or solid is still to be determined. The high Wednesday will be around 37 degrees, and Laws said he felt it would be the greatest chance for precipitation, snow or otherwise.
“The latest and greatest (forecast) I have, if (snow) were to happen, would be Wednesday afternoon,” he said. “It would start as a heavy rain, and as temperatures drop, work to snow. I don’t think it has the potential, but if it (does snow), that’s when it would.”
As a precaution, Chilton County has been placed under a winter weather advisory from midnight Monday until 9 a.m. on Tuesday, but Laws said that as of around 3 p.m on Monday, he felt the county would be too far south for snow accumulation.
“The trends (for the front) have moved south, but I just don’t see any accumulation for Chilton County and Clanton in particular,” he said. “The line (for the storm) cuts Chilton County in half. I just can’t put (snow) in the forecast yet.”
The forecast given for Chilton County predicts rain entering the area on Tuesday before 7 a.m., with the high around 47 degrees and the chance of rain around 80 percent.
Tuesday night has the rain chances tapering off to around 20 percent after 4 a.m., with Wednesday and Wednesday night rain chances around 100 percent.
Temperatures will rise to a high of 48 degrees on Thursday, with a low of 27 Thursday night.
Despite the chance of precipitation, Laws said the temperatures were not predicted to be low enough to create a situation involving ice hazards.
The temperatures would create a slush-type snow, instead of the icy conditions experienced in Jan. 2014.
“This is going to be rain or snow, (but we) don’t foresee ice,” he said. “It won’t be like last January. Just wet, heavy, bulky snow.”
Laws said for those in the area to “stay tuned” to the forecasts, as weather situations can change by the hour.
“Check again tomorrow,” he said. “One way or another, we’ll get precipitation.”