BREAKING: Jefferson County Schools CLOSED Friday, Jan 6

From staff reports

JEFFERSON COUNTY — Jefferson County Schools officials announced all county schools will close Jan. 6, 2017 in preparation of this week’s possible winter storms.

“Due to the impending threat of ice, sleet,  and snow, all Jefferson County Schools and offices will be closed on Friday, January 6^th. We have a weather day scheduled for May 30. We will use this day in order to make-up time missed.  I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may cause for our local schools concerning scheduled PDAs of 5 a.m.,” Superintendent Craig Pouncey said in a release.

Thursday, the NWS in Birmingham has expanded the winter storm watch area and shifted the impact area slightly. The local forecast suggest snow will begin the fall in the northern part of Alabama after 1 a.m. on Friday.

At 6:23 a.m. on Thursday, James Spann reported, “Euro model ensemble mean showing about 1.4” of snow for Birmingham by tomorrow (Friday) night.”

According to AlabamaWX.com, road conditions and travel will likely deteriorate throughout the event.  Light snow could begin early tomorrow over the northern third of the state, with icy spots developing on bridges and overpasses. Soil temperatures are relatively warm, so many road surfaces will be wet initially, but keep in mind many places across North Alabama will stay below freezing all day tomorrow, meaning potential for some icy travel where snow falls.

But the most widespread travel issues will come late tomorrow afternoon, through tomorrow night, and into Saturday morning as precipitation rates increase and temperatures fall into the 20s. Roads could very well become icy and dangerous over the northern half of Alabama, where the heavier precipitation comes down. The main travel issues will be in the Winter Storm Watch area, but we can’t rule out a few spotty issues to the south as well.