Some parts of Alabama will get a winter preview tonight.

The National Weather Service is expecting some of the coldest temperatures of the fall to descend on Alabama tonight, and Friday morning many will wake up to temperatures in the 30s.

The weather service said the first frost of the fall will be likely tonight for parts of north and central Alabama, which will fall into the low to mid-30s tonight.

Frost advisories could be issued later today for parts of the state.

The southern half of Alabama won’t get off easy, either, and also will face the prospect of lows in the upper 30s to low 40s.

(See the forecast temperatures for tonight at the top of this post.)

High temperatures today (Thursday) will also be on the chilly side, according to weather service forecasts.

Here are today’s expected highs:

Western Alabama will be warmer than eastern Alabama today.

Northeast Alabama will have the lowest high temperatures today, which may only make it into the low to mid-50s.

The rest of Alabama will have highs anywhere from the mid-50s in the north to the low 60s in the south.

It could also be quite windy, with wind gusts of 20-30 mph possible, according to the weather service.

Some lingering showers may be possible through the first part of the day, but drier air will be moving in starting this afternoon.

The weather service expects the clouds to slowly move out during the day today, with west Alabama getting to see some sunshine first later this afternoon (which is why it is expected to be several degrees warmer there).

East Alabama may get a peek of the sun, but clouds aren’t expected to really break up until around sunset.

Tonight is expected to be the coldest night of the week, but Halloween night will also be very chilly.

Low temperatures from Halloween night (Friday) into Saturday morning will again make it into the 30s in north and central Alabama, but the weather service thinks it may be a degree or two “warmer” than tonight is expected to be.

Frost will again be possible in many locations in north and central Alabama from Friday night into Saturday morning.

Here are the forecast low temperatures from Friday night into Saturday morning:

Warmer temperatures are expected over the weekend, and the next chance for rain could arrive on Sunday or Monday, though the weather service noted that the forecast details were still frustratingly murky at this point.

Some parts of Alabama are among the nation’s most reliant on food benefits, data shows.

About 15% of Alabamians will feel the impacts of a pause on Supplemental Nutrition Aid Program benefits if a weekslong government shutdown does not end by Nov. 1. That’s about 754,000 people – many of whom are children, senior citizens and individuals with disabilities.

But the need is much more pronounced in some of the state’s rural Black Belt counties, AL.com found, where as many as one in three residents received SNAP benefits in 2024.

Few other counties in the U.S. have higher enrollment rates than west Alabama’s Wilcox, Perry and Dallas counties, according to a recent report from the Associated Press.

Can’t see the map? View it here.

Nearly half of Alabama households receiving food stamps reported having a child under 18 or someone with a disability living among them. And two in five lived with at least one senior citizen, according to 2024 Census survey data.

Need closely mirrors racial wealth gaps in the state. Recent research from the Economic Policy Institute found that cuts to SNAP could disproportionately harm families of color.

Nearly a quarter of Black householders in Alabama were enrolled in SNAP benefits last year, compared to just 8% of white householders. About 15% of Hispanic and Native American householders in the state also received benefits.

Statewide, SNAP enrollment ranged from just 5% of the population to up to 38%.

Shelby County, which has the lowest share of residents living below the poverty line, saw the lowest SNAP participation rates, at just 5.5%.

Other high-need counties span across much of lower and west Alabama, with Greene, Lowndes, Sumter and Butler counties reporting enrollment rates of more than 25%.

Far-reaching impacts

Nationwide, SNAP disbursements have been on the decline since reaching a peak in 2012. Today, far fewer Alabamians are receiving benefits than did a decade ago.

It’s a trend that largely mirrors economic patterns, experts say: As employment and income levels improve, fewer people enroll in food benefits. The country saw some of its lowest poverty rates in history in 2019, before swinging back up slightly during the pandemic.

Can’t see the chart? View it here.

The shutdown began on Oct. 1, after Democrats refused to pass the Republican-sponsored bill to fund the government unless health care tax credits, part of the Affordable Care Act, were extended.

The Trump administration has confirmed it would not use roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits flowing into November.

As states like Alabama brace for a pause, researchers and advocates warn of far-reaching impacts.

In addition to sending more than $140 million in food benefits to Alabamians each month, the program supports more than 7,800 jobs and $350 million in wages for grocery employees statewide, AL.com reported earlier this week. Cuts or interruptions to the program could cost Alabama up to $1.7 billion in annual federal funds, resulting in a $2.6 billion economic loss.

Alabama’s Department of Human Resources said individuals can still apply for SNAP during the pause and that current recipients must still recertify their benefits, report as they normally would and submit all normal documentation.

“These steps are of the utmost importance so DHR can submit each recipient’s benefit file as soon as the suspension is lifted; in other words, this will allow recipients to more quickly use their November funds in the grocery stores,” the press release said.