Snow Reports

Snow is beginning to fall across Northwest Alabama.   Here are some reports:

…Snow is now falling in Tuscumbia.  NWS Huntsville says numerous reports of light snow, light sleet in Northwest Alabama.

…Snow reported in Cherokee in Northwest Alabama.

…Light snow flurries reported in Hamilton according to the NWS Birmingham.

…Snowflakes reported west of Jasper and in the City of Jasper.

…Snow now reported just north of Fayette.

…Snow reported at Vernon in Lamar County.

…Some snow reported in Cullman County.

…Now snowing in Columbus MS.   Temperature there dropped from 42F to 36F in the last hour.

…1.5 inches on the ground in Tupelo according to the NWS Memphis with multiple icy roads.

…Heavy snow now reported in Starkville.  Accumulating quickly on grass and elevated surfaces.

…The airmass over Central Alabama is very dry.  There will be quite a bit cooling as the precipitation evaporation (about 8 degrees).  This means our temperatures in the lower and middle 40s will fall quickly into the middle 30s.

Here is the text of a mesoscale discussion from SPC about the snow. They are calling for snowfall rates approaching one inch per hour into North Alabama over the next few hours.

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0102
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0303 PM CST WED FEB 09 2011

AREAS AFFECTED…NERN LA…ERN AR…CNTRL/NRN MS…SWRN TN…NWRN AL

CONCERNING…HEAVY SNOW

VALID 092103Z – 100130Z

SNOW WILL CONTINUE SHIFTING EWD ACROSS THE ARKLAMISS REGION AND
MID-SOUTH THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING…WITH RATES OF
1 INCH PER HOUR EXPECTED.

MOIST ISENTROPIC ASCENT ATOP AN ARCTIC AIR MASS ADVANCING INTO THE
LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE EWD SHIFT OF
PRECIPITATION INTO THIS EVENING. PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE FROM RAIN
TO SNOW ACROSS SERN PORTIONS OF THE DISCUSSION AREA AS WET-BULB
SURFACE TEMPERATURE READINGS FALL AOB FREEZING…WITH THE RAIN-SNOW
LINE LIKELY EXTENDING FROM 35 SW HSV TO 30 ENE JAN TO 35 ESE MLU BY
00Z PER THE 18Z RUN OF THE EXPERIMENTAL HRRR. SNOWFALL RATES ARE
EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY TO 1 INCH PER HOUR…AS AN AXIS OF DEEPER
MOISTURE TRAVERSES THE AREA. THE HIGHEST SNOWFALL RATES WILL BE MOST
LIKELY ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE HIGHWAY 82 CORRIDOR…WHERE THE NAM
MODEL INDICATES 800-700-MB FRONTOGENESIS INCREASING AFTER 00Z IN
CONJUNCTION WITH INCREASING SLANTWISE INSTABILITY AND PWAT VALUES OF
0.70 TO 0.80 INCH.

..COHEN/BROYLES.. 02/09/2011

I notice Dr. Tim is putting the finishing touches on a mesoscale analysis of the situation. Expect it around the top of the hour.

Category: Alabama's Weather, Winter Weather