Alabama, 2002

Winter Storm in Alabama, January 2, 2002

January 2, 2002 · NWS MOB · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

A band of sleet and snow fell across the region during the early morning hours Wednesday. Most of the snow fell prior to sunrise, but continued until late morning on a more isolated basis in some locations.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
12

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 MOB wrote it up.

A band of sleet and snow fell across the region during the early morning hours Wednesday. Most of the snow fell prior to sunrise, but continued until late morning on a more isolated basis in some locations. Most of the snow occurred along and north of a line extending from Deer Park in Washington County, to Evergreen in Conecuh County, to Luverne in Crenshaw County. A mixture of light snow, sleet and freezing rain occurred south of this line, with 1 to 2 inches of snow falling over northern portions of Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia and Covington counties. Little or no accumulations were reported over southern portions of Mobile and Baldwin counties. Some of the heavier snowfall accumulations occurred in the Jackson and Whately areas of Clarke County, where 3 inches of snowfall was reported on the ground. The community of Snow Hill, in Wilcox County, lived up to it's name with 2 inches of snow on the ground. Camden, Peterman, and Highland Home all also reported a 2 inch snow accumulation. Traveling became hazardous across the area, especially on secondary roads and bridges. Several secondary roads and bridges had to be temporarily closed and sanded, however, very few traffic accidents were reported.

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 Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 1, 9:40 PM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 9:40 PM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
940 PM CST TUE JAN 01 2002

LATEST REPORTS FROM AREA SPOTTERS INDICATE A GOOD MIX OF SLEET AND
RAIN MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM NEAR MOBILE...EASTWARD
ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE WESTERN FLORIDA
PANHANDLE COUNTIES.  REPORTS INDICATE THIS CHANGES TO MAINLY SNOW
FROM NEAR AUGUSTA AND LEAKESVILLE MISSISSIPPI INTO WASHINGTON AND
POSSIBLY PORTIONS OF CLARKE COUNTY IN SW ALABAMA.  THIS IS WHERE THE
COLDEST TEMPS AND DEWPOINTS ARE CURRENTLY SEEN AT THIS TIME.  EXPECT
THIS TRANSITION FROM RAIN/SLEET TO MAINLY SNOW TO CONTINUE WORKING
ITS WAY EASTWARD AND SLIGHTLY SOUTHWARD INTO CENTRAL MOBILE AND
BALDWIN COUNTIES AND ACROSS MUCH OF ESCAMBIA...MONROE...CLARKE...
COVINGTON...BUTLER AND CRENSHAW COUNTIES OF SW ALABAMA OVERNIGHT.
COULD ALSO SEE SOME SNOW OVER NORTHERN ESCAMBIA...SANTA ROSA AND
OKALOOSA COUNTIES OF NW FLORIDA AFTER MIDNIGHT...BUT THIS AREA IS A
BIT TRICKIER.  THE DEEPENING LOW IN THE CNTRL GULF IS HELPING TO
ADVECT WARMER DEWPOINTS NORTHWARD AND LATEST OBSERVATIONS SHOW
WARMING DEWPOINTS WORKING UP FROM PANAMA CITY AREA.  IF THIS
CONTINUES TO PUSH INTO EXTREME NW FLORIDA...THEN TEMPS WILL NOT
SUPPORT SNOW...MAINLY JUST RAIN/SLEET MIXED AND THIS IS COVERED INT
THE FORECAST.

THEREFORE...IT APPEARS THE FORECAST IS MAINLY ON TRACK WITH SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT MAINLY ACROSS THE
HEART OF SE MISSISSIPPI AND SW ALABAMA WHERE THE WINTER WARNING IS
FOCUSED.  WILL UPDATE ZONES SHORTLY TO MAINLY TWEAK WORDING A
BIT...BUT BY LARGE NO MAJOR CHANGES ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
39

.MOB...
AL...WINTER STORM WARNING ALZ051>064 TNGT THRU WED EVENING.
SMALL CRAFT ADVSY GMZ630-650-670 TONIGHT.
GALE WARNING GMZ670 WED.
FL...WINTER STORM WARNING FLZ001-003-005 TNGT THRU WED EVENING.
SMALL CRAFT ADVSY GMZ655-675 TONIGHT.
MS...WINTER STORM WARNING MSZ067-075-076-078-079 TNGT THRU WED
EVENING.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Choctaw

When
January 2, 12:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where
Choctaw forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
32.020, -88.263 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clarke

When
January 2, 12:30 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where
Clarke forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.677, -87.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Conecuh

When
January 2, 12:30 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Conecuh forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.429, -86.994 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Covington

When
January 2, 12:30 AM CST to 5:00 AM CST
Where
Covington forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.249, -86.451 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Escambia

When
January 2, 12:30 AM CST to 5:00 AM CST
Where
Escambia forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.126, -87.162 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Upper Baldwin

When
January 2, 12:30 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
Where
Upper Baldwin forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER

Winter Storm, Upper Mobile

When
January 2, 12:30 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
Where
Upper Mobile forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER

Winter Storm, Butler

When
January 2, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Butler forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.752, -86.680 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Crenshaw

When
January 2, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Crenshaw forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.732, -86.314 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Monroe

When
January 2, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.571, -87.365 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Washington

When
January 2, 1:00 AM CST to 5:00 AM CST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.408, -88.208 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wilcox

When
January 2, 1:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Wilcox forecast zone
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.989, -87.308 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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: 5276855, 5276856, 5276857, 5276858, 5276860, 5276862, 5276863, 5276854, 5276859, 5276861, 5276864, 5276865.