Cold, wind expected for Saturday in Tuscaloosa, West Alabama

Jason Morton, The Tuscaloosa News
·2 min read
College basketball fans will have to bundle up on their way to Saturday's matchup at Coleman Coliseum between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Baylor Bears as an arctic air mass is expected to chill temperatures across West Alabama.
College basketball fans will have to bundle up on their way to Saturday's matchup at Coleman Coliseum between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Baylor Bears as an arctic air mass is expected to chill temperatures across West Alabama.

Bring in the pets and wrap the pipes, it’s going to be a cold Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

Temperatures were expected to drop overnight Friday into the lower 20s with wind chills expected to be in the mid-teens, said Gary Goggins, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Birmingham.

“We’ve got some cold air coming in,” Goggins said. “But no winter weather is expected there in Tuscaloosa. …

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“Mainly just cold and windy conditions are expected there in Tuscaloosa.”

The arctic air coming southward will bring cold and wind, but Goggins said no precipitation – and, therefore, no ice or hazardous roadway conditions – is forecast for West Alabama.

Northern parts of the state could see some snow flurries, Goggins said, but nothing is expected to accumulate.

According to the latest forecast, the Tuscaloosa area could fall below freezing around midnight Friday and continue falling into the low- to mid-20s by sunrise Saturday.

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And while Friday night is expected to be frigid, and Saturday morning even more so, temperatures should be climbing into the 40s by the time the University of Alabama’s men’s basketball team tips off at 3 p.m. against the Baylor Bears in Coleman Coliseum.

“A very cold air mass is settling in,” Goggins said, “but it will be short-lived.”

By Sunday, the highs will be reaching the 50s, allowing for some outdoor activity before the weekend ends.

While Saturday’s lows will be unseasonably cold for this time of year, it’s not expected to break the record low temperature of 14 set on Jan. 29, 1963.

“It won’t be that cold,” Goggins said, “but it will be frigid for our neck of the woods in Alabama.”

Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Cold air, high winds expected for Saturday in Tuscaloosa, West Alabama