Alabama, 2002

Heavy Snow in Alabama, January 2, 2002

January 2, 2002 · NWS BMX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

A January snow storm brought 2 to 4 inches of snow to an area of Alabama running roughly along a line from Hayneville to Montgomery to Tuskegee to Opelika. The heaviest snow band in these counites reached nearly four inches, and the band was surrounded by snowfall amounts of less than 2 inches.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS BMX wrote it up.

A January snow storm brought 2 to 4 inches of snow to an area of Alabama running roughly along a line from Hayneville to Montgomery to Tuskegee to Opelika. The heaviest snow band in these counites reached nearly four inches, and the band was surrounded by snowfall amounts of less than 2 inches. Schools were closed and transportation was disrupted for a time.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 2, 3:18 AM CST, 2 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 2, 3:18 AM CST, 2 hours 58 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL
318 AM CST WED JAN 02 2002

PCPN TRYING TO GET ITS ACT TOGETHER BUT INFLUX OF MOISTURE HAVING
TROUBLE OVERCOMING DRY AIRMASS IN PLACE OVER REGION.  A FEW REPORTS
HAVE COME IN MODERATE SNOWFALL...BUT RADAR INDICATES HEAVIER SNOW
BANDS ARE PATCHY...AND ANY MODERATE SNOWFALL WILL BE SHORT LIVED.
BACK EDGE OF PCPN BAND NEAR NEW-CBM LINE...AS SHORT-WAVE TROF
NOW CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.  BELIEVE ANY SHOT AT SIGNIFICANT
SNOWFALL WILL OCCUR BEFORE 16Z TODAY...AS MODELS INDICATE BULK OF
PCPN SHIFTING INTO GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON.  WILL CONTINUE WITH
CURRENT WARNING AREA...BUT DROP WEDNESDAY NIGHT. WILL LIKELY CONVERT
WINTER STORM WATCH TO A SNOW ADVISORY. WILL WORD WARNING AREA WITH 1
TO 3 INCHES...AS WIDESPREAD 4 INCH AMOUNTS DOES NOT SEEM VERY
LIKELY.

ANOTHER SHOT AT SNOW COMES TONIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING AS UPPER LOW
CENTER MOVES RIGHT ACROSS NORTH ALABAMA.  MODELS SHOWING DEEPER
MOISTURE WRAPPING NORTH AND WESTWARD IN RESPONSE TO LOW...AND WOULD
NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME POCKETS OF MODERATE SNOWFALL AHEAD OF
LOW CENTER.  THIS FEATURE WILL LIKELY ONLY AFFECT NORTHERN COUNTIES
OF ALABAMA...AND ACCUMULATIONS SHOULD STAY BELOW WARNING CRITERIA...
BUT A SNOW ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED.

ONCE UPPER TROF PULLS EAST OF ALABAMA LATE THURSDAY...SKIES WILL
CLEAR AND TEMPERATURES WILL DROP CONSIDERABLY.  LOWS FRIDAY MORNING
IN THE MIDDLE TO UPPER TEENS ACROSS NORTH ALABAMA AND AROUND 20
SOUTHERN SECTIONS. NEXT SYSTEM WILL BARREL INTO ALABAMA LATE
SATURDAY.  MRF HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY SHOWING DECENT WRAP AROUND
MOISTURE ON SUNDAY...AND WILL CONTINUE WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW
FOR NORTH ALABAMA.

HSV CE 037/025 032/016 040 58354
BHM CE 035/028 033/018 042 58454
MGM SE 035/030 036/020 044 58843

.BMX...
AL...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY ZONES 37>50.
     SNOW ADVISORY TODAY ZONES 25..27>36.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Dallas

When
January 2, 6:16 AM CST to 10:15 AM CST
Where
Dallas forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.326, -87.106 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lowndes

When
January 2, 6:45 AM CST to 10:45 AM CST
Where
Lowndes forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.155, -86.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pike

When
January 2, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Pike forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.803, -85.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Montgomery

When
January 2, 7:15 AM CST to 11:15 AM CST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.220, -86.208 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Elmore

When
January 2, 7:30 AM CST to 11:30 AM CST
Where
Elmore forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.597, -86.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bullock

When
January 2, 7:45 AM CST to 11:45 AM CST
Where
Bullock forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.100, -85.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Macon

When
January 2, 8:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Macon forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.386, -85.693 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tallapoosa

When
January 2, 8:15 AM CST to 12:15 PM CST
Where
Tallapoosa forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.862, -85.797 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Russell

When
January 2, 8:30 AM CST to 12:30 PM CST
Where
Russell forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.288, -85.185 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lee

When
January 2, 8:45 AM CST to 12:45 PM CST
Where
Lee forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.601, -85.356 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chambers

When
January 2, 9:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
Where
Chambers forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.914, -85.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alabama in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, January 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5279976, 5279979, 5279982, 5279981, 5279977, 5279974, 5279980, 5279984, 5279983, 5279978, 5279975.