Alabama is facing the prospect of a significant winter storm over the weekend. The National Weather Service said there is an increasing potential for parts of the state to get snow, or worse, freezing rain, starting as soon as Friday night and lasting into Sunday night.

Alabama braces for a weekend winter storm with snow, ice and dangerous travel conditions across the state. Here's what we know.

A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for much of North Alabama and southern Middle Tennessee as forecasters monitor a potentially sign

The main concerns are the threat of freezing rain, sleet, and snow, which could create impossible travel conditions and power outages through Sunday.

After sunset, showers will spread east across the state. It will be too warm for any wintry precipitation and too cool for severe weather — just rain. Showers will linger into Thursday morning before drying out by Thursday afternoon. That brief break will be the calm before the storm.

Veteran meteorologist James Spann wrote that one of his go-to weather models, the system run by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (also known as the ECMWF) shows the possibility of prolonged freezing rain over part of Alabama (northern Alabama most likely).