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Category: Met 101/Weather History

Remembering the February 1-2, 1996 Winter Storm with a Series of Hilarious NWS Forecast Discussions

Remembering the February 1-2, 1996 Winter Storm with a Series of Hilarious NWS Forecast Discussions

| February 3, 2024 @ 9:00 am

As forecasters at the NWS Birmingham became a little stir-crazy by the end of the February 1996 winter storm, one of them typed out a hilarious state forecast discussion that is hall-of-fame material.

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The Anastasia Miracle in 1704

The Anastasia Miracle in 1704

| January 28, 2024 @ 9:00 am

During the Spanish Succession War, Tyrolean forces planned to plunder Benediktbeuern Monastery in Bavaria, but a miraculous weather twist foiled their plans as a warm, föhn wind caused the frozen swamps that the troops planned to march across, sparing the monastery.

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The January Thaw

The January Thaw

| January 25, 2024 @ 9:00 am

The January thaw is a weather singularity. A singularity is an event that occurs more often than one would expect with chance. The January thaw is a period of above normal warmth that frequently occurs in mid-Winter in the eastern U.S. and eastern Canada.

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The Stormy Iron Bowl Afternoon that Turned Deadly

The Stormy Iron Bowl Afternoon that Turned Deadly

| December 3, 2023 @ 9:00 am

The 1983 Iron Bowl game came with a severe thunderstorm that produced a tornado warning for Jefferson County in the middle of the game. But the game played on… And later the same storm produced a deadly tornado.

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Fine Weather Played a Contributing Role in the Thanksgiving Day 1951 Deadly Train Wreck in Woodstock

Fine Weather Played a Contributing Role in the Thanksgiving Day 1951 Deadly Train Wreck in Woodstock

| November 25, 2023 @ 1:53 pm

Folks around Birmingham talked about that 1951 Thanksgiving wreck at Woodstock for years. Ironically, fine weather played a contributing role in the crash which killed 17 people.

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1951 Streamliner Crash

1951 Streamliner Crash

| November 12, 2023 @ 9:00 am

OTD in 1951, a blizzard led to a tragic train collision at the Wyoming/Utah border. The Union Pacific’s City of San Francisco ran two signals and crashed into the back of the City of Los Angeles in whiteout conditions, killing 17 and injuring 159. Follow my weather history tweets on Twitter.

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Hurricane History of the Cedar Keys

Hurricane History of the Cedar Keys

| August 29, 2023 @ 9:17 am

Today, Cedar Key, Florida is a resort and artists colony and fishing village. There has not been a major hurricane there since Easy in 1950. But it has a devastating hurricane history beforee that.

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Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Western Jefferson County, Parts of Tuscaloosa and Walker…

Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Western Jefferson County, Parts of Tuscaloosa and Walker…

| August 11, 2023 @ 3:17 am

At 313 AM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Oakman, or 13
miles southwest of Cordova, moving southeast at 25 mph.

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April 2, 1974:  Director of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center Calling

April 2, 1974: Director of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center Calling

| April 2, 2023 @ 9:00 am

On the morning of April 2, 1974, Mr. Robert Ferry, the Meteorologist in Charge of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Birmingham received a call from Allen Pearson, Director of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center in Kansas City. Dr. Pearson started the call by asking about the tornadoes that had popped through the state of Alabama the night before. But the real reason for his call was to warn Mr. Ferry about the weather that was coming the following day: April 3, 1974.

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Records Falling Across the South Today

Records Falling Across the South Today

| December 7, 2022 @ 12:49 pm

The unseasonably warm air across the South is producing record high temperatures for the date and the month.

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Dense Fog Overnight

Dense Fog Overnight

| October 31, 2022 @ 9:43 pm

Be careful if you must drive in areas with reduced visibilities.

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Hurricane Sandy:  The Rest of the Story

Hurricane Sandy: The Rest of the Story

| October 29, 2022 @ 2:00 pm

Ten years ago tonight, Hurricane Sandy slammed ashore on the New Jersey coast causing $65 billion in U.S. damage.

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Sunday Weather Xtreme Video:  Late Summer Warmth for Alabama; Could See Nicholas in the Gulf This Week

Sunday Weather Xtreme Video: Late Summer Warmth for Alabama; Could See Nicholas in the Gulf This Week

| September 12, 2021 @ 7:00 am

More tropical development is expected in the western Gulf of Mexico this week, and we could see Tropical Storm Nicholas form in the next 36 hours or so.

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Hurricane Preparedness Week – Day 7: Complete A Written Plan

Hurricane Preparedness Week – Day 7: Complete A Written Plan

| May 15, 2021 @ 10:00 am

The time to prepare for a hurricane is before the season begins, when you have the time and are not under pressure. If you wait until a hurricane is on your doorstep, the odds are that you will be under duress and will make the wrong decisions. Take the time now to write down your hurricane plan.

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