A late winter storm system, that had caused some severe thunderstorms the previous day, ended with a heavy snow event for portions of central Alabama. The snow began during the early morning hours on March 1, and lasted until the afternoon on the same day, with the most significant accumulations occurring from around 3 am to 3 pm.
Every event with a place to put it; 18 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 BMX wrote it up.
A late winter storm system, that had caused some severe thunderstorms the previous day, ended with a heavy snow event for portions of central Alabama. The snow began during the early morning hours on March 1, and lasted until the afternoon on the same day, with the most significant accumulations occurring from around 3 am to 3 pm. The heaviest snow, generally from 3 to 5 inches, was in a swath across the middle of the state, from near Tuscaloosa to Auburn. Thundersnow was reported in several counties near the Georgia state line. The vast majority of the snow melted before the sun set that evening, which minimized the total impact of the event.
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 Feb 28, 11:53 PM CST, 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1153 PM CST SAT FEB 28 2009 .UPDATE...AVIATION DISCUSSION. && .DISCUSSION... TRYING TO GET A HANDLE ON THE FORCING MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE APPROACHING WINTER STORM. CLOSED UPPER-LEVEL LOW OVER CENTRAL ARKANSAS WILL CONTINUE TO DIG SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH ALABAMA BY 6 AM SUNDAY...BECOMING NEGATIVELY TILTED THEREAFTER. SIGNIFICANT LARGE-SCALE FORCING IS NOW SPREADING OVER THE FORECAST AREA...BUT WILL QUICKLY MOVE OUT OF WESTERN ALABAMA AFTER 6 AM SUNDAY. YET...FORECAST MODELS CONTINUE TO PRODUCE PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS BEHIND THE SYNOPTIC-SCALE FORCING...WHICH APPEAR TO TIED TO UPPER-LEVEL DEFORMATION...MID-LEVEL INSTABILITY...AND A DEVELOPING TROUGH OF WARM AIR ALOFT. THE ENTIRE DEFORMATION ZONE...OVER NORTHERN ARKANSAS TO WEST TENNESSEE...IS PIVOTING AND BECOMING MORE ORIENTED IN A NORTH TO SOUTH FASHION WITH TIME. LATEST NAM AND GFS MODELS CONTINUE TO BRING LIGHT SNOW INTO OUR NORTHWEST COUNTIES...MAINLY BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 3 AM...WITH THE LEADING EDGE OF SNOW SPREADING TO THE BIRMINGHAM AREA AROUND 6 AM. THE GFS AND NAM DISAGREE ON WHERE THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR THE HEAVIEST SNOW AFTER 6 AM. GFS SHOWS THE POTENTIAL FOR TWO PLUS INCHES FROM BIRMINGHAM NORTHEAST TO BLOUNT AND ETOWAH COUNTIES. HOWEVER...THE NAM PLACES ITS TWO PLUS INCHES OVER EAST-CENTRAL ALABAMA. AT THIS TIME...MY BEST GUESS IS THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL EAST OF I-65 AND NORTH OF I-85. WILL CONTINUE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY OVER NORTHWEST COUNTIES FOR TONIGHT...AND WINTER WEATHER WATCH OVER ENTIRE AREA FOR SUNDAY. 03 && .AVIATION...06Z TAF DISCUSSION. DID SOME MINOR TWEAKING TO THE FORECAST MAINLY TO ADJUST THE TIMING ON WHEN THE SNOW WILL BEGIN TO MOVE IN. FOR SURE...TCL...ANB...EET AND BHM SHOULD SEE SNOW OUT OF THIS SYSTEM. MGM AND TOI COULD SEE A LITTLE LESS BUT STILL ENOUGH TO IMPACT AVIATION ACTIVITIES. LOW CEILINGS ARE STILL EXPECTED...BUT AFTER 00Z...SKIES ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME CLEAR. 10/ARM && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TO 6 AM FOR MARION-WINSTON- BLOUNT-LAMAR-WALKER-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-BIBB-TUSCALOOSA-FAYETTE- PICKENS. WINTER STORM WATCH FOR ALL AREAS FROM 6 AM SUNDAY THROUGH 3 PM SUNDAY. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 739 PM CST SAT FEB 28 2009 ALZ011>015-017>050-020139- AUTAUGA-BARBOUR-BIBB-BLOUNT-BULLOCK-CALHOUN-CHAMBERS-CHEROKEE- CHILTON-CLAY-CLEBURNE-COOSA-DALLAS-ELMORE-ETOWAH-FAYETTE-GREENE-HALE- JEFFERSON-LAMAR-LEE-LOWNDES-MACON-MARENGO-MARION-MONTGOMERY-PERRY- PICKENS-PIKE-RANDOLPH-RUSSELL-SHELBY-ST CLAIR-SUMTER-TALLADEGA- TALLAPOOSA-TUSCALOOSA-WALKER-WINSTON- 739 PM CST SAT FEB 28 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE AREA HAS CAUSED SIGNIFICANT RISES ON MANY RIVERS. SOME FLOOD WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED. MOISTURE WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST LATER TONIGHT. AS COLD AIR SPREADS SOUTHWARD...THE RAIN WILL BECOME MIXED WITH SNOW...MAINLY AFTER MIDNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. A STRONG UPPER LOW WILL MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA SUNDAY MORNING. SOME MOISTURE WILL BE AVAILABLE AS THE COLD AIR FILTERS IN. THEREFORE...THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF MEASURABLE SNOW ON SUNDAY WITH POSSIBLE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES. ANY ACCUMULATIONS WILL LIKELY OCCUR ON GRASSY SURFACES...BUT SOME ROADWAYS MAY BECOME SLICK ESPECIALLY NORTH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE REQUIRED ON SUNDAY DUE TO POSSIBLE WINTER WEATHER.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1058 PM CST SAT FEB 28 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0830 AM TSTM WND DMG SMITHS STATION 32.54N 85.10W
02/28/2009 LEE AL PUBLIC
DAMAGE TO SMITHS STATION JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. AIR
CONDITIONERS AT THE ROOF OF THE SCHOOL WERE BLOWN AWAY.
TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ACROSS THE CITY. A.D. MCLEIN
HISTORIC RAIL ROAD MUSEUM DAMAGED. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
&&
ARMThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
18 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The snow began around midnight, and accumulated to 2 to 3 inches until it ended around 9 am. Several bridges on future Interstate 22 became snow covered and icy.
The snow began around midnight, and accumulated to 2 to 3 inches until it ended around 9 am.
The snow began around midnight, and accumulated to 2 to 3 inches until it ended around 10 am.
The snow began just after midnight, and accumulated up to 3.5 inches until it ended around 11 am.
The snow began just after midnight, and accumulated up to 3 inches until it ended around 11 am.
The snow began around 2 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 4 inches until it ended just before noon.
The snow began around 2 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 3 inches until it ended around noon.
The snow began around 230 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 3 inches until it ended around noon.
The snow began around 3 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 3 inches until it ended just after noon.
The snow began around 3 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 3 inches until it ended around 1 pm.
The snow began around 3 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 4 inches until it ended around 130 pm. The heaviest snow was in the southern portion of the county, near Childersburg and Sylacauga.
The snow began around 3 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 4 inches until it ended around 130 pm.
The snow began around 3 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 4 inches until it ended around 2 pm.
The snow began around 4 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 3 inches until it ended around 2 pm.
The snow began around 4 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 3 inches until it ended around 230 pm.
The snow began around 4 am, and accumulated up to 3 to 4 inches until it ended around 330 pm.
The snow began around 6 am, and quickly accumulated up to 3 to 5 inches until it ended around 330 pm.
The snow began around 6 am, and accumulated up to 2 to 4 inches in the northern part of the county, until it ended around 330 pm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, March 2009
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: 161460, 161461, 161462, 161463, 161464, 161465, 161466, 161467, 161468, 161469, 161470, 161471, 161472, 161473, 161474, 161475, 161476, 161477.