Today will feel more like June instead of March. Highs surge into the mid 80s later this afternoon, approaching record levels for March 27. Most locations will stay just a touch below the records set back in 1910.
Looking ahead to the weekend, much of Saturday looks dry, but we are continuing to keep a close eye on the risk for strong to severe storms Saturday night across North Alabama. Areas to the west of Huntsville have been upgraded to a Scattered risk for severe storms as a cold front brings a line of showers and storms to the area. The timing of this cold front has move up a couple hours compared to this time yesterday, allowing for a small window for storms to maintain their strength as they move into the area. The latest timing shows the cold front entering the Shoals late Saturday evening and weakening as it moves eastward across North Alabama. Damaging winds and large hail are the primary concerns. An isolated tornado also cannot be ruled out, but that threat remains low. Now is the time to prepare for potential severe weather. Have at least two ways to get warnings tomorrow night, especially since this will largely be an overnight event while most of us are sleeping. We will provide more updates on air and online later this afternoon and Saturday.
The cold front sweeps through early Sunday morning, bringing temperatures back to near normal for the new week. Highs top out in the low 70s Monday. Another system will bring a renewed round of showers and a few thunderstorms Monday night into Tuesday. That will drop our temperatures even more by mid week with highs only in the low to mid 60s.