Winter Storm Warning Issued For Tuscaloosa County

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Birmingham expects Tuscaloosa County to receive 0.13 inches of ice accumulation from Sunday night into Tuesday morning, and will be placing the area under a Winter Storm Warning beginning Sunday evening at 6 p.m. and lasting through Monday at midnight.

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The NWS says for Tuscaloosa residents to expect periods of freezing rain and sleet, while also stressing the need to prepare for power outages and tree damage. Forecasters mentioned travel could be nearly impossible during this time. Sunday night could see light freezing rain before heavy mixed precipitation Monday.

Meteorologists predict total ice accumulations of one tenth to three tenths of an inch and total sleet accumulations up to one half inch with locally higher amounts as temperatures will likely fall well below freezing by Monday night.

In terms of timing, meteorologists currently predict a 30% chance of showers for Tuscaloosa, mainly before 3 a.m., with a low around 33. Monday's forecast states rain showers can be expected before 3 p.m., before the possibility of freezing rain becoming higher.

The low temperature for Tuscaloosa Monday night could fall into the teens, as freezing rain and sleet is likely before midnight.

The NWS office in Birmingham said the second wave of precipitation on Monday is expected to have the greater impacts of the two, with enough freezing rain to potentially cause hazardous travel, especially in the far western Alabama counties.

As the winter storm threat approaches, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox took to social media Saturday to inform the public that the city has activated operations for its Incident Command.

"As with most winter weather, there is always a great deal of uncertainty," he said on Twitter. "Please stay weather aware."

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