The arctic cold has arrived. There was a bit of severe weather today, and now all eyes are on a developing winter storm that will move across the Southeast later in the week, potentially bringing snow and ice accumulations to northern Alabama.

The sky remains cloudy tonight. It will be windy and cold, with lows in the mid 20s.

Tuesday looks partly cloudy and still cold. Temperatures will only peak in the upper 30s.

Wednesday and Thursday will bring the coldest morning temperatures in the upper teens to lower 20°C. The afternoons remain cold despite some sunshine on both days. Expect high temperatures to continue in the upper 30s.

A low pressure system is expected to develop off the coast of Texas on Thursday, bringing a band of wintry precipitation from North Texas to the Carolinas. The path of the depression and its intensity will ultimately determine how much wintry weather we see across northern Alabama.

We are currently expecting light snow to fall late Thursday evening. Some gatherings are possible until sunrise on Friday. As temperatures rise to just above freezing during the day Friday, snow will mix with or possibly transition into sleet and/or rain, particularly south of the Tennessee River. A transition back to snowfall is expected when precipitation begins Friday evening.

Currently, accumulations around the Alabama-Tennessee border appear to be on the order of a few centimeters, with totals decreasing further south. Light icing could occur primarily along and south of the Tennessee River.

Travel conditions are likely to be affected from Thursday night into Saturday morning, but should gradually improve over the weekend with temperatures rising back above freezing on Saturday and above 40C on Sunday.

TONIGHT: Cloudy, windy. Lows in the mid 20s. Wind: N 10 mph.

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy and cold. Highs in the upper 30s. Wind: N 5-10 mph.