Category: Winter Weather
Saturday Morning Flizzard!
Lots of reports of snow flurries and some light snow across the area this morning.
Radar shows very faint echoes on reflectivity across much of the southeastern half of Walker County across the southwestern two thirds of Jefferson County, then over much of Shelby County on into southern Talladega, Coosa eastern Chilton and even into Elmore Counties.
You can see that on this radar with a more sensitive color table.
Here is a dual panel with reflectivity on the left and Dual Pol Hydrometeor Classification on the right. I left the legend up for the right panel. You can see plenty of graupel in peach, dry snow in light blue and unknown in magenta (probably a mix).
Graupel is what happens when snowflakes run into supercooled water droplets and freeze into little white pellets. They look like small hail, but they’re not hail, and they’re not sleet. They’re graupel!
Some reports from the Flizzard:
…7:43 Flurries getting heavier in Alabaster
…7:36 Light snow in Cahaba Heights sticking to roofs
…7:26 Nice snow shower in Columbiana
…7:14 Snow flurries in Chelsea. Large flakes.
…7:05 Snowing in Columbus MS
…7:02 @lhcoop says “Light snow coming down this morning in Jasper. March is roaring in like a lion!”
…6:52 It’s snowing in Moody and sticking to rooftops!
Here is a picture from Section in Northeast Alabama courtesy of Brian Harper via Jason Simpson at WHNT.
Only a few lucky folks will see enough snow to stick on colder objects like grills, decks and cars. Heavier showers may stick on roofs and grass. There are no reports of any road problems at all across Central Alabama. The winter weather advisory continues til noon for Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah, Fayette, Jefferson, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston Counties. The advisory was canceled for DeKalb and Jackson Counties earlier.
Muscle Shoals did set a record for snowfall yesterday. They recorded a trace. Woohoo! That tied the record set in 2005. Who says it never snows in Alabama?
Flying Flakes
Through out most of the night, most areas have seen snow flakes flying in the cold air. As we check the radar, it is hard for the radar to see snow, like it does other forms of precip. Currently heaviest snow shower showing up on radar is over western sections of Jefferson County. Reports of snow falling from Oak Grove, Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, Concord and Bessemer. Nothing too heavy and not causing travel problems. Just because it is not showing up on radar, doesn’t mean its not snowing, most places are seeing flakes flying.
Across the rest of North Alabama, a lot of other snow reports coming in, our Skywatcher Vic Bell in Black Creek reported a passing snow shower this morning produced enough snow to cover the roof tops, but nothing on the ground or roads. We are expecting more snow showers to move in to the state throughout the morning. A look at a regional radar shows heavier and more concentrated snow showers along I-65 from Nashville into southern Kentucky. Those showers will be coming down the interstate and will be into North Alabama in a little while. Still not expecting any travel issues, but some areas could see a dusting today, with most of the snow on roof tops and grassy areas.
A Little Light Snow, Sleet and Rain
Lots of reports of snow and mixed precipitation coming in from across North and Central Alabama.
You can see from the radar that the precipitation is very, very light. It should get a little heavier late tonight and early Saturday morning as a trough of low pressure swings across the area.
Some recent reports…
…light snow reported at Good Hope in Cullman County
…@KN4TX reported flakes on the northern side of Lake Tuscaloosa
…a light sleet and snow mix being reported in Odenville
…light snow in Hazel Green
…mix of snow, sleet and rain at Trussville.
A winter weather advisory is in effect for the northern part of Central Alabama until noon Saturday. Counties included are: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah, Fayette, Jefferson, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Winston as well as DeKalb and Jackson Counties in Northeast Alabama.
Areas in the winter weather advisory will anywhere from no snow to a dusting of snow, with areas that see heavier snow showers perhaps getting 1/2 to 1 inch of snow. The heavier amounts are more likely in the higher elevations north and east of Birmingham.
Birmingham’s Longest Snowless Streak
March came in like a lion across the South on this date in 2009 as a strong upper low spread snow across Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. After dumping over a foot of snow on western Tennessee on Saturday night, snow moved into Alabama during the early morning hours on the 1st. One to two inch amounts were common, with several amounts in the three to five inch range. The snow moved into Georgia, bringing heavy snow to the Atlanta area.
There was some confusion about whether it marked the end of an amazing snowless streak at Birmingham’s official reporting station, the Shuttlesworth – Birmingham International Airport, where two inches of snow fell. A cursory review of the records indicated that it put an end to a streak that had lasted over nine years. Even the State Climatologist’s online records indicated it had not snowed since January 28, 2000. It was going to go into the record books as a 3,319 day streak.
But not so fast my friend, as Coach Lee Corso likes to say.
The official records at the National Climate Data Center showed that It had snowed 0.1 inches at the Airport on March 8, 2008. So the counters were reset to that date instead. While the streak was not quite as long as it could have been, it still was by far the longest in the city’s history.
While the streak was a year shorter than earlier thought, Birmingham residents were generally thankful for the snow they got.
Birmingham’s longest snowless streaks
1. 2961 days 1/28/2000 until 3/7/2008
2. 2225 days 2/1/1951 until 3/6/1957
3. 1769 days 2/13/1905 until 12/18/1909
4. 1387 days 2/13/1971 until 12/1/1974
5. 1137 days 1/5/1919 until 2/15/1922
6. 1069 days 2/23/1901 until 1/28/1904
On This Date in 1958
February 14, 1958 was a Friday night. Snow lovers got a special gift as the heaviest snowfall since 1948 blanketed Birmingham with over two inches of snow. Unprepared celebrants headed out for a night on the town got a rude surprise.
Roads in the Magic City quickly became snow packed and impassable. Roads between Birmingham and Atlanta were especially dangerous.
The northwest corner of Alabama was blanketed with 3-6 inches of snow. Six to eight inches fell in Decatur.
As often is the case around these parts, snowfall amounts varied over a short distance. While there was two inches on the ground in Bessemer, there was none in Tuscaloosa.
At the Birmingham Municipal Airport, A Delta Airlines DC-7 slid off the runway on Saturday morning and buried itself nose deep in slush and mud when the nosewheel broke. None of the 43 passengers were injured.
