Drought in Alabama, May 1 to 12, 2026

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Huntsville AL
1209 AM CDT Fri May 1 2026

...New AVIATION...

.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 919 PM CDT Wed Apr 30 2026

 -  Medium to high chances of rain Friday night. Rainfall totals
    between 0.25" to 0.5" are forecast.

 -  A much cooler air mass will arrive this weekend, with daytime
    highs in the mid to upper 60s and overnight lows in the 40s.

&&

.NEAR TERM...
(Rest of tonight and Friday)
Issued at 919 PM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026

Mid to high clouds will continue to overspread the Tennessee
Valley late this evening well ahead of a developing low pressure
system along the Texas Gulf Coast. These clouds will likely
prevent temperatures from falling as low as they potentially
could in this cooler, post-frontal air mass. As it stands, still
like temperatures in the mid to upper 40s will be common in most
locations. Some breaks in the clouds may form throughout the day
on Friday, but ceilings will gradually lower through the day as
the aforementioned storms system tracks eastward along the Gulf
Coast. Weak isentropic lift may generate some very low (10-20%)
chances for light rain in the afternoon, but a vast majority of
locations will remain dry. Main story will be the cooler air mass
which should result in a cool day to start the month of May.
Still, enough peeks of sunshine will also allow high temperatures
to reach the upper 60s to lower 70s by the late afternoon.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
(Friday night through Sunday night)
Issued at 919 PM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026

The area of low pressure along the MS/AL Gulf Coast will begin to
interact with a broad upper-trough swinging through the Mid South
and Tennessee Valley Friday night into early Saturday morning. As
a result of this added forcing, medium to high (50-80%) chances
for showers and a few elevated thunderstorms are forecast to
spread across the region during this overnight window. The lack of
deep moisture recovery will limit rainfall production somewhat,
but still think another wetting rain is likely in most locations.
Storm total amounts of around 0.25" to 0.5" in most areas in
northern Alabama, with some lower amounts progged across southern
middle Tennessee.

The aforementioned trough will swing across the Tennessee Valley
late Friday night, clearing the area Saturday morning. In its wake
another shot of cooler air will push into the region. Due to the
breezy northerly winds, temperatures will struggle to climb above
the mid 60s across much of the area Saturday afternoon. A good
setup for radiational cooling as temperatures will fall back into
the lower 40s by early Sunday morning. A few locations in
sheltered valleys of southern middle Tennessee could slip into the
upper 30s. A broad area of high pressure will attempt to build
into the area on Sunday and with plenty of sunshine highs will
climb back into the 70s.

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Monday through Thursday)
Issued at 919 PM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026

As surface high pressure maintains its hold over the Southeast on
Monday and the upper level flow is relatively zonal, benign weather
will comprise the early portion of the work week. Although, an upper
trough will begin to pivot from the north-central CONUS down into the
Ohio and Tennessee valleys through midweek. Meanwhile, as a surface
low develops and slides over New England, a trailing cold front looks
to traverse the Tennessee Valley between Wednesday and Thursday
morning. Ultimately, expect rain chances to return Tuesday evening
and peak on Wednesday (40-60%). Taking a look at strong to severe
storm potential, ample bulk shear is currently shown by global models
on Wednesday; however, instability looks to be fairly low. What
we'll be watching closely is the timing of this system through the
region. If it swings over the Tennessee Valley moreso during the day
on Wednesday, there likely will be higher instability than the global
models are depicting at the moment. However, if it's later
(Wednesday evening/night) as our current forecast suggests, then the
amount of instability will be less, resulting in a lower severe
weather threat. Stay tuned as we refine details in the coming days!

As for temperatures, highs will warm back into the upper 70s to
around 80 degrees through midweek. Lows will also warm back into the
mid 50s to lower 60s come Tuesday night. Although, a cool down is in
store after FROPA Wednesday/Wednesday night. Lows Wednesday night are
currently forecast to drop into the lower to mid 50s, with highs on
Thursday topping out in the upper 60s to lower 70s. Even cooler
temperatures may then follow beyond Thursday!

&&

.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 1209 AM CDT Fri May 1 2026

VFR conditions will persist through the TAF period with BKN to OVC
high clouds and light northerly winds. Rain chances will increase
toward the very end of the TAF period, but confidence in timing
was too low for this issuance.

&&

.HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AL...None.
TN...None.
&&

NEAR TERM...AMP
SHORT TERM....AMP
LONG TERM....CGA
AVIATION...25