A strong surface high over the Appalachian mountains kept temperatures at or just below freezing across much of northern Alabama Tuesday morning. At the same time, a strong southerly low level jet developed and lifted Gulf of Mexico moisture northward over this cold air.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS HUN wrote it up.
A strong surface high over the Appalachian mountains kept temperatures at or just below freezing across much of northern Alabama Tuesday morning. At the same time, a strong southerly low level jet developed and lifted Gulf of Mexico moisture northward over this cold air. This caused widespread light freezing rain and sleet to occur in portions of southern middle Tennessee and northern central Alabama. Most locations received a glaze to 1/10 of an inch of icing.
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 Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 23, 5:45 AM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 545 AM CST TUE DEC 23 2008 .UPDATE...FOR 12Z AVIATION DISCUSSION && .AVIATION... LIGHT FZRA/IP POSSIBLE IN VCTY OF KMSL THROUGH 14Z...BEFORE SFC WARMS ABOVE FREEZING. OTHERWISE...EXPECT CIGS TO GRADUALLY FALL TO MVFR BY THE END OF THE DAY WITH GUSTY SOUTH WINDS INCREASING THROUGH THE PERIOD AS THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS AHEAD OF A DEVELOPING LOW. CONDITIONS WILL RAPIDLY DETERIORATE THIS EVENING AT KMSL AS MOISTURE PLUME DROPS CIGS AND A 45KT JET AT 2KFT PUSHES INTO THE AREA. SIMILAR CONDITIONS WILL MOVE INTO KHSV BY 06Z WEDNESDAY. MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST PAST THE TAF PERIOD. && .DISCUSSION.../ISSUED AT 409 AM CST TUE DEC 23 2008/ A COMPLICATED FORECAST FOR THE TENNESSEE VALLEY...AS ANOTHER SYSTEM CREATING HEAVY SNOWS OVER THE GREAT BASIN AND ROCKIES CONTINUES TO SPIN UP AND MOVE EASTWARD. WITH THIS SYSTEM...RATHER DEEP MID LATITUDE TROUGHING WAS NOTED OVER THE GREAT BASIN. PER THE INFRARED AND WATER VAPOR SATELLITE VIEW...A KICKER WAS MOVING SSE IN THE PREVAILING FLOW FROM THE ALEUTIANS...NOW DUE WEST OF VANCOUVER. IT WILL PLAY A ROLE IN OUR WEATHER THIS WEEKEND. PRECEDING THE ROCKIES SYSTEM...MID LEVEL MOISTURE WAS STRONGLY UPGLIDING IN THE 300-305K REGION. THUS IN THE 10-15K AGL RANGE THERE ARE ECHOES NOTE VIA LOCAL AND REGIONAL RADARS. PRECIP THAT MAKES IT TO THE GROUND OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS AND INTO THE MID MORNING COULD BE SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN...WITH AREA TEMPS IN THE MID 20S TO AROUND 30. SOUNDINGS FROM THE NAM/GFS CONTINUE THE SAME STORY AS THE PAST FEW DAYS...IF PRECIP DEVELOPS IN THE 10KFT RANGE CAN SURVIVE THE JOURNEY THROUGH A DRY LAYER TO THE SURFACE. BETTER ODDS OF THAT OCCURRING... IF THAT HAPPENS AT ALL STILL ARE OUT WEST SO HAVE LEFT IN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT SLEET/FREEZING RAIN FROM 12-15Z. AFTERWARD... TEMPERATURES (THANKFULLY) ACROSS THE AREA SHOULD RECOVER ABOVE THE FREEZING POINT WHICH WILL ELIMINATE WINTRY WEATHER WOES THIS GO AROUND. SHOWERS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE DAY WILL GRADUALLY OVERSPREAD THE VALLEY FROM WEST TO EAST...WITH THE HIGHEST POPS OUT WEST. TONIGHT...HAVE RAISED POPS FROM CATEGORICAL FOR OUR WESTERN COUNTIES TO LIKELY FOR THE EAST. MORE INSTABILITY OUT WEST COULD YIELD A FEW RUMBLES OF THUNDER WITH THE HEAVIER SHOWERS. CHRISTMAS EVE LOOKS TO BE A WINDY AND WET DAY FOR THE AREA WITH WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND ISOLATED T-STORMS. SOME OF THE STORMS DURING WED COULD BECOME STRONG...GIVEN SOUNDING DATA NOTING SLIGHTLY NEGATIVE LIFTED INDEXES AND SOME CAPE...ALONG WITH HIGH STORM RELATIVE HELICITIES MAINTAINING ABOVE 500 M/S FROM THIS EVENING INTO EARLY CHRISTMAS MORNING. THE COLD FRONT WITH THIS SYSTEM PER MODEL OUTPUT SHOULD SWEEP ACROSS THE REGION DURING LATE WED NIGHT AND EARLY THU...WITH SHOWER ACTIVITY ENDING FROM NW TO SE THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE NIGHT. AT THIS TIME...CHRISTMAS DAY SHOULD BE A DRY ONE BUT MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES A LITTLE WARMER THAN USUAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. THE IMPULSE/KICKER NOTED ABOVE WILL HELP DEVELOP YET ANOTHER SYSTEM OVER THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST AND BRING IT THIS WAY. THUS CHANCES OF MORE RAIN RETURN THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. MODEL TIMING DIFFERENCES BY THIS TIME WERE BECOMING MORE APPARENT. THE GFS WAS MORE PROGRESSIVE...ENDING THE SHOWERS DURING SATURDAY...BUT THE SLOWER AND DEEPER ECMWF HELD ON TO SHOWERS ABOUT 1/2 DAY LONGER. GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF QPF PAINTED BY THE GFS/DGEX/ECMWF...WAS TEMPTED TO GO LIKELY ONE OF THOSE DAYS...BUT WILL HOLD OFF FOR BETTER MODEL AGREEMENT. BUT IN DEFERENCE TO THE ECMWF WHICH HAS BEEN PERFORMING PRETTY GOOD AS OF LATE...HAVE KEPT A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS GOING TILL SUNDAY...THEN DRYING SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && DISCUSSION...RSB AVIATION...JLL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 400 AM CST TUE DEC 23 2008 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-231900- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DE KALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 400 AM CST TUE DEC 23 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. WARM SOUTHERLY WILL RETURN TO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY TODAY. WITH A COLD AND DRY SURFACE AIRMASS ALREADY ESTABLISHED...PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST ALABAMA MAY SEE LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR SLEET EARLY THIS MORNING...BEFORE SURFACE TEMPERATURES RISE WARM BY MID MORNING. DUE TO THE EXPECTED LIGHT INTENSITY AND COVERAGE OF THIS WINTRY PRECIPITATION...TRAVEL PROBLEMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY. AHEAD OF THE FRONT...WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED...WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 40 MPH OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA WEDNESDAY EVENING...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE...SOME OF WHICH COULD BE STRONG WITH GUSTY WINDS TO 50 MPH. ADDITIONALLY...WITH AMPLE MOISTURE PRESENT ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. AN UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE HOLIDAY WEEK...WITH SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED...BEFORE ANOTHER COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE TENNESSEE VALLEY ON SATURDAY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS AGAIN POSSIBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM...WHICH WILL ENHANCE THE FLOOD THREAT...ESPECIALLY IN CREEKS AND OTHER LOW LYING AREAS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 443 AM CST TUE DEC 23 2008 ALZ001>004-231300- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FLORENCE...MUSCLE SHOALS... RUSSELLVILLE...MOULTON 443 AM CST TUE DEC 23 2008 ...LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR SLEET POSSIBLE EARLY THIS MORNING... PRECIPITATION FALLING THROUGH A COLD SURFACE LAYER WILL CREATE POCKETS OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR SLEET ACROSS NORTHWEST ALABAMA EARLY THIS MORNING. THE PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN LIGHT...AND AS TEMPERATURES WARM ABOVE FREEZING BY MID MORNING...THE THREAT OF FROZEN PRECIPITATION WILL WANE BY 9 AM. WIDESPREAD TRAVEL PROBLEMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED...HOWEVER...CAUTION IS ADVISED ON WET ROADWAYS.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 655 AM CST TUE DEC 23 2008 ALZ001>004-231500- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FLORENCE...MUSCLE SHOALS... RUSSELLVILLE...MOULTON 655 AM CST TUE DEC 23 2008 ...LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR SLEET POSSIBLE EARLY THIS MORNING... PRECIPITATION FALLING THROUGH A COLD SURFACE LAYER WILL CREATE POCKETS OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR SLEET ACROSS NORTHWEST ALABAMA EARLY THIS MORNING. THE PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN LIGHT...AND AS TEMPERATURES WARM ABOVE FREEZING BY MID MORNING...THE THREAT OF FROZEN PRECIPITATION WILL WANE BY 9 AM. WIDESPREAD TRAVEL PROBLEMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED...HOWEVER...CAUTION IS ADVISED ON WET ROADWAYS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Colbert county emergency management officials reported rural roads, primarily in southern and western portions of the county, were beginning to ice over. A glaze to 1/10 of an inch of ice accumulated.
Lauderdale emergency management officials reported icing on US 72 Elk River Bridge on the Lauderdale/Limestone county line. A glaze to 1/10 of an inch of ice accumulated.
Cullman county emergency management officials reported icy conditions had developed on a bridge 2.5 miles east 0f Jones Chapel, which caused an accident. A glaze to 1/10 of an inch of ice accumulated.
Light freezing rain and sleet caused icy conditions to develop in several places in Lawrence County during the morning hours. Emergency management officials reported icing on Alabama Highway 157 at the Colbert/Lawrence county line, Alabama Highway 24 west of Mount Hope, Big Nance Creek Bridge on Alabama Highway 157, and on county road 236 in the Mount Moriah area. A car slide off the road on Alabama Highway 24. Also, icing was reported on county road 236 in the Hatton area. A glaze to 1/10 of an inch accumulated.
Franklin County Sheriffs department reported numerous accidents due to icy roads countywide. A good number of these accidents occurred on icy roads near and south of Russellville, particularly along US highway 43.|A glaze to 1/10 of an inch of ice accumulated.
Icing was reported in portions of northwestern Madison county on several roadways. Particularly hard hit areas included: the intersection of Carriger Road and Mulberry Road in Hazel Green, Grimwood Road between Hazel Green and Meridianville, and on a bridge across Shady Grove road. These conditions caused one accident at the intersection of Carriger road and Mulberry road. A glaze to 1/10 of an inch of ice accumulated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, December 2008
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: 142060, 142061, 142057, 142059, 142056, 142063.