As a low pressure system moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday January 9th, moisture pushed northward into Central Alabama, interacting with cold air already in place across the area. The combination of moisture and cold air brought a wintry mix of precipitation to most of Central Alabama, Sunday afternoon through Monday morning.
Every event with a place to put it; 39 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.
As a low pressure system moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday January 9th, moisture pushed northward into Central Alabama, interacting with cold air already in place across the area. The combination of moisture and cold air brought a wintry mix of precipitation to most of Central Alabama, Sunday afternoon through Monday morning. Snowfall totals ranged from 4 to 7 inches across far north Central Alabama to 2 to 4 inches across locations from Vernon to Birmingham to Anniston. South of these locations, ice and sleet were the predominant precipitation type with around .50 inch of ice and between 1 to 3 inches of sleet reported across southern portions of the area.
Light wintry precipitation began to spread into the area during the early afternoon hours on January 9. Even though amounts were light, accumulations were increasing travel concerns and the risk for vehicle accidents. As the strong storm system neared the area, several bands of wintry precipitation moved northward across the area, sometimes becoming quite heavy, with estimated precipitations rates over 1 inch an hour. As snow and ice began to accumulate, travel conditions quickly became hazardous. Several reports of thundersnow were also noted.
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 9, 5:37 AM CST, 5 hours 23 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 537 AM CST SUN JAN 9 2011 .UPDATE...FOR AVIATION. && .DISCUSSION... A MAJOR WINTER STORM IS CURRENTLY INBOUND AS THE GULF LOW IS BEGINNING TO TAKE SHAPE ACROSS SOUTH TEXAS. THE LOW WILL STRENGTHEN A BIT WITH TIME BEFORE WEAKENING AS IT MOVES OFF THE SOUTHERN LOUISIANA COAST. THIS SEEMS TO BE OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCE...HOWEVER...AS IT...ALONG WITH ITS RATHER WEAK UPPER TROUGH WILL PICK UP PLENTY OF GULF MOISTURE AS THEY TRANSLATE EASTWARD. AS OF THIS MORNING...THE STAGE IS BEING SET AS TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE TEENS ACROSS THE NORTH AND UPPER 20S ACROSS THE SOUTH AS SOME CAA CONTINUES AT THE SURFACE. THE WINDS WILL QUICKLY TURN EAST LATER TODAY...KEEPING THE COLD AIR WEDGE AND MORE IMPORTANTLY THE DEWPOINTS RATHER DRY...TRY THE SINGLE DIGITS FOR MOST FOLKS THIS MORNING. THAT DOES MAKE THE TEMPERATURES RATHER COMPLEX FOR LATER TODAY...AS SOME WARMING IS EXPECTED BEFORE THE PRECIP ARRIVES. WE MAY EVEN GET INTO THE LOWER 40S WAY DOWN SOUTH BEFORE THE TREMENDOUS WET-BULBING EFFECT TAKES US BACK TO BELOW FREEZING. FOR THE MOST PART SURFACE TEMPERATURES ARE NOT THE CONCERN WITH THE FORECAST...AS IT LOOKS EVERYONE WILL STAY BELOW THE 32 MARK FOR THE DURATION OF THE EVENT...THANKS TO THAT WET-BULBING EFFECT. NOW ON TO OTHER CONCERNS. OUT OF THE GATE...I HAD BEEN WATCHING THE DRYING TREND ACROSS THE HEART OF CENTRAL ALABAMA AS MOST NUMERICAL GUIDANCE DEVELOPS SOME CONVECTION OUT OVER THE GULF WATERS. THAT SAID...WHEN LOOKING AT THE LOW AND MID LEVEL FRONTOGENESIS AND NEGATIVE PVU...THERE WILL BE A DECENT BAND OF MESOSCALE LIFT THAT LOOKS TO FORM NEAR SOUTH CENTRAL MS AND TRANSLATE RATHER QUICKLY NORTHEAST TO TCL...BHM...AND EVENTUALLY GADSDEN BY MIDNIGHT OR THEREABOUT. MODEL QPF JUST DOESN'T MATCH THAT FEATURE...SO HAVE DISCOUNTED SOME OF THE LOWER AMOUNTS BY KEEPING THE GENERAL 3 TO 6 INCHES WITH LOCALLY MORE ACROSS THE NORTHERN THIRD OF THE AREA. OF COURSE...THE MESOSCALE DETAILS OF THIS FEATURE WILL OBVIOUSLY BE DETERMINED IN A MORE NOWCASTING SCENARIO...BUT I WILL HAVE TO RELY ON THE NUMERICAL OUTPUT FOR THE GENERAL SYNOPTIC LOOK AND FEEL OF THE SETUP. STILL...THE MOISTURE WILL BE IN THE ATMOSPHERE...AND IF THE FEATURE IS REAL...THERE WILL BE THAT OPPORTUNITY EARLY MONDAY MORNING TO SEE A HEAVY SNOW BAND DEVELOP...WILL BE INTERESTING. THE NEXT OBVIOUS CHALLENGE IS THE PRECIP TYPE...AS ONCE AGAIN...IT SEEMS THE BHM CWA IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRANSITION. WITH THE TREMENDOUS WET-BULBING EARLY ON...IT LOOKS AS IF MOST EVERYONE...EVEN THE SOUTHERN MOST COUNTIES WILL AT LEAST START AS SNOW. HOWEVER...RATHER QUICKLY...THE WARM CONVEYOR BELT NOT ONLY BRINGS MOISTURE...BUT LOTS OF GULF HEAT TO FORM A SIGNIFICANT WARM NOSE JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE UNDERGLIDE. THIS WILL CAUSE MAJOR TROUBLE AS IT LOOKS LIKE THE WARM NOSE WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO COMPLETELY MELT ANY ICE CRYSTALLIZATION...AND THEN REFREEZE ON CONTACT WITH THE SURFACE. THE FURTHER SOUTH YOU ARE...THE BETTER CHANCE FOR THIS TO HAPPEN. THERE MAY BE A ZONE NORTH OF THE FREEZING RAIN MARK...WHERE MORE SLEET THAN SNOW MAY EXIST AS SOME DRYING BEGINS TO OCCUR IN THE DENTRITIC GROWTH ZONE. ONE THING THAT FORECASTERS SHOULD WATCH CLOSELY IS THE DRYING THAT TAKES PLACE...SAY ABOVE -10C...WHERE IT IS SATURATED AT LOWER LEVELS. THIS SHOULD BEGIN OCCURRING CLOSER TO SUNRISE ON MONDAY AND TRANSITION FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE CWA. IT IS LOOKING LIKE FOLKS IN THE NORTHERN TIER OF COUNTIES MAY STAY PRIMARILY SNOW WITH SOME IP MIXTURE WORKING IN NEAR THE END OF THE EVENT ON MONDAY AFTERNOON. I AM STILL HAVING TREMENDOUS DIFFICULTY IN PINPOINTING THE TRANSITION AREAS. ONCE THE PRECIPITATION PROCESSES START THE NUMERICAL PROFILES ARE OFTEN TIMES INCORRECT...SO IN A FORECASTING MODE...IT IS BEST TO GIVE OR TAKE 30 TO 50 MILES OR SOMETIMES A LOT MORE FOR A PROPER TRANSITION ZONE. WE COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT WARMING OR COOLING A LAYER OR DYNAMIC COOLING ZONES THANKS TO HEAVY PRECIP...BUT OUR TIME IS SHORT. IN THE END...IT IS UNWISE TO GET CAUGHT UP IN MODEL SOUNDINGS TO MAKE MESOSCALE PTYPE DETERMINATIONS OR ZONES...THE MODELS WILL BE WRONG NEARLY EVERY TIME. BOTTOM LINE...MOST...IF NOT ALL...FOLKS WILL LIKELY START AS SNOW SUNDAY EVENING AS THE PRECIP SHIELD SPREADS FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST. AFTER JUST A SHORT WHILE...THE SOUTHERN MOST COUNTIES WILL TRANSITION TO FREEZING RAIN OR SLEET AND THIS TRANSITION WILL SLOWLY WORK FROM SOUTH TO NORTH FROM AROUND MIDNIGHT THROUGH MIDDAY MONDAY. FOLKS SOUTH WILL DEAL WITH VERY LITTLE...IF ANY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...WHILE FOLKS NORTH WILL GET THE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OVERNIGHT...THEN A GLAZING OF ICE OVER TOP AS THE EVENT ENDS. THE ICE SEEMS TO BE THE BIGGER THREAT TO FOLKS IN THE SOUTH THAN SNOW...HENCE THE UPGRADE TO AN ICE STORM WARNING SOUTH OF I20. WITHIN THE ICE STORM WARNING...YOU MAY GET YOUR 2 INCHES OF SNOW...BUT AGAIN...THE ICE THAT WILL FOLLOW WILL BRING THE MOST DANGER. PLEASE MAKE PREPARATIONS NOW TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY FROM THIS SIGNIFICANT WINTER EVENT. 17/KLAWS && .AVIATION...12Z TAF DISCUSSION. THE FIRST 6 TO 8 HOURS OF THIS FORECAST...IMPACTS WILL BE MINIMAL AS THE WINTER STORM APPROACHES THE AREA. WE WILL SEE CLOUDS CONTINUE TO STREAM IN ALOFT AND THEN LOWER AS THE DAY PROGRESSES. THE BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE AFTER 21Z AND MORE THAN LIKELY CLOSER TO 00Z AS FAR AS SNOW FOR THE NORTHERN TAFS WITH THE HEAVIEST BATCH OF SNOW FALLING AFTER 3Z THROUGH THE MORNING. WE MAY SEE A TRANSITION TO FREEZING RAIN IN THE NORTHERN TAFS BEFORE 12Z BUT WENT WITH THE MAIN IMPACTS AND PREDOMINATE WEATHER FOR NOW. THE NEXT UPDATE WILL LIKELY CONTAIN ANY FZRA EXPECTED ACROSS THE NORTH. MEANWHILE THE SOUTHERN TAFS...MGM AND TOI...ARE A TOUCH TOUGHER TO FORECAST WITH THE ONSET OF THE ACCUMULATION. WILL LEAVE SNOW IN AT MGM...BUT NOT INCLUDE AT TOI. THERE MAY SOME BRIEF SNOW SHOWERS AT TOI LATE AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING...BUT THE CONCERN COMES AFTER 00Z AT BOTH LOCATIONS WITH THE INCREASING CHANCES OF FREEZING RAIN MOVING IN AFTER 4Z. IT LOOKS LIKE THE HEAVIEST RAIN WILL NOT IMPACT THIS AREA UNTIL 9 TO 10Z. SOME SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED AT TOI AND MGM. NOTICE...KEET TAF WILL HAVE (AMD LTD TO VIS WIND AND WX) AMENDED TO THE END OF THE FORECAST THROUGH THE END OF THE 2010/2011 WINTER SEASON. THE CEILOMETER DATA WILL BE GOING THROUGH NUMEROUS TESTS AND MONITORED FOR ACCURACY. 16 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 33 26 32 26 37 / 20 100 80 20 20 ANNISTON 37 28 32 28 40 / 30 100 80 20 20 BIRMINGHAM 37 28 33 27 39 / 60 100 70 20 20 TUSCALOOSA 36 28 33 28 42 / 70 100 50 10 10 CALERA 38 28 33 28 41 / 60 100 60 10 10 AUBURN 39 27 33 29 42 / 20 100 70 10 10 MONTGOMERY 40 29 34 31 45 / 30 100 50 10 10 TROY 40 30 34 33 47 / 30 100 50 10 10 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ICE STORM WARNING FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST MONDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: AUTAUGA...BARBOUR...BIBB...BULLOCK... CHAMBERS...CHILTON...COOSA...DALLAS...ELMORE...GREENE...HALE... LEE...LOWNDES...MACON...MARENGO...MONTGOMERY...PERRY...PIKE... RUSSELL...SUMTER...TALLAPOOSA. WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST MONDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: BLOUNT...CALHOUN...CHEROKEE...CLAY... CLEBURNE...ETOWAH...FAYETTE...JEFFERSON...LAMAR...MARION... PICKENS...RANDOLPH...SHELBY...ST. CLAIR...TALLADEGA... TUSCALOOSA...WALKER...WINSTON. && 17/56
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 652 AM CST SUN JAN 9 2011 ALZ011>015-017>050-101252- 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- 652 AM CST SUN JAN 9 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A MIX OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL SPREAD INTO SOUTHWEST ALABAMA BY THIS AFTERNOON...AND WILL MOVE OVER THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT. THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE MAINLY IN THE FORM OF SNOW NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20 AND SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN TO THE SOUTH. SNOW AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS WILL BEGIN BY MIDNIGHT ACROSS THE SOUTH AND WEST. EAST WINDS AROUND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THIS STORM SYSTEM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY MONDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THE WINTRY MIX WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON. ON MONDAY...ALMOST ALL SNOW CAN STILL BE EXPECTED NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20 WITH MAINLY FREEZING RAIN/SLEET TO THE SOUTH. BY MONDAY AFTERNOON TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES ARE LIKELY ACROSS AREAS ALONG AND NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE 20 CORRIDOR...ESPECIALLY THE EXTREME NORTH. FARTHER SOUTH...1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW IS LIKELY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM DEMOPOLIS... TO SELMA...TO AUBURN. ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF ONE QUARTER INCH...TO ONE HALF INCH...ARE LIKELY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM DEMOPOLIS...TO CLANTON...TO ROANOKE. ICE ACCUMULATIONS WILL DECREASE AS YOU GO NORTH. LIGHT SNOW COULD CONTINUE ON TUESDAY WITH LITTLE TO NO ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS LIKELY SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
26 ice storm, 13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
One quarter inch of ice covering most surfaces across the county. Several traffic accidents were due to icy road conditions.
One quarter inch of ice reported coating most surfaces across the county with isolated locations up to one half inch ice accumulation, including near Eutaw.
One quarter inch of ice reported coating most surfaces across the county. Nine people were indirectly injured in a three car accident due to heavy icing on Highway 69 just north of Greensboro.
One quarter inch of ice reported across most of the county.
One quarter inch of ice reported coating most surfaces across the county. Also, one inch of sleet accumulation reported near Marion.
One quarter inch of ice reported coating most surfaces across eastern portions of the county, including the city of Plantersville.
A mixture of freezing rain and sleet fell across the county, with average ice accumulations of one half inch and one inch of sleet accumulation in Carrollton. This led to numerous road closures.
Roadways and bridges were closed throughout the county due to ice accumulations.
A mixture of freezing rain, snow and sleet fell across the county. Ice began accumulating on sidewalks and elevated roadways shortly after precipitation began to fall, leading to numerous accidents and road closures. One fatality (indirect) was reported as a result of a nine car pileup on Interstate 59 near Coaling. Over one half inch of ice accumulation was reported throughout most of the county.
Ice accumulation over one quarter inch were reported across the county, with three tenths inch reported in Centreville. Ice accumulation led to numerous road closures.
A mixture of freezing rain and sleet fell across the county, with one half inch of ice accumulation across much of the area. One half inch of sleet was also reported.
A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain fell across the county, with one half inch of ice accumulation on power lines and other elevated surfaces.
Ice accumulations over one quarter inch were reported across the county, resulting in numerous vehicle accidents.
A mixture of snow, freezing rain and sleet fell across the county. Over one inch of snow was reported across northeastern portions of the county, with 2.20 inches of sleet reported in Maylene. In addition, one half inch of ice covering all exposed surfaces was observed at the NWS office.
Ice accumulations over one quarter inch were reported countywide, with accumulations near one half inch in Alexander City and Tallassee.
A mixture of snow and sleet fell across the county, with snow accumulations up to 4 inches across northern portions of the county.
Freezing rain resulted in ice accumulations of one quarter inch in Auburn.
Snowfall totals across the county ranged from near one inch to 2.8 inches near Fayette.
Ice accumulations of one quarter inch were reported in Lafayette.
A mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain fell, resulting in ice accumulations over one quarter inch across eastern portions of the county. Snow accumulations of 1 to 4.5 inches were reported across the county, at times occurring on top of a layer of ice. All interstates through the county were impassable during the early morning hours on the 10th.
A mixture of freezing rain and sleet fell across the county, with ice accumulations over one quarter inch countywide and sleet accumulations of one half inch reported in Childersburg.
Snowfall accumulations ranged from 2 inches in the southeastern portion of the county to 6 inches in the northwestern portion of the county.
A mixture of snow and freezing rain fell across the county, with snow accumulating on top of a layer of ice. Snowfall accumulations ranged from 2 to 4.5 inches.
Snowfall accumulations ranged from 6 to 7 inches across the county.
In the higher elevations in the northeastern portion of the county, up to 2.5 inches of snow fell. In addition, ice accumulations of three quarters inch was reported from locations in the southern portion of the county.
Ice accumulations over one quarter inch resulted in all roads within the county to be closed.
Snow accumulations across the county ranged from 3.5 to 6 inches, reported in Blount Springs.
Snow accumulations across the county ranged from 2 to 4 inches, which was reported in Moody.
Snow accumulations ranged from 2 to 7 inches, which was measured near Noccalula Falls.
Snow accumulations across the county ranged from near 2 inches in the south to 4.3 inches in the north.
Snow accumulations ranged from 2 to 5 inches.
Snow accumulations ranged from near 2 to 6.5 inches, which was reported near Centre.
Ice accumulations of one quarter inch were reported.
One half inch of ice accumulation was reported on elevated surfaces. Several trees and power lines were down due to ice.
Freezing rain and sleet resulted in over one quarter inch ice accumulation on area roadways. In a few locations, near one half inch of ice accumulation was reported. Sleet accumulations up to 3 inches were also reported. Ice accumulations resulted in numerous accidents across the county. One vehicle accident resulted in one fatality (indirect) near Lowndesboro.
Ice accumulations over one quarter inch accumulated on elevated roadways and bridges.
Ice accumulations of one quarter inch reported across the county. Several large trees limbs were downed due to ice accumulation.
Freezing rain and sleet resulted in ice accumulations of one quarter inch.
Ice accumulations ranged from one quarter inch to 0.4 inches across the county.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm, Tuscaloosa | 2011-01-09 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect | ||
| Ice Storm, Lowndes | 2011-01-10 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, January 2011
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: 282090, 282114, 282115, 282109, 282116, 282118, 282119, 282170, 282120, 282121, 282122, 282124, 282126, 282131, 282127, 282146, 282164, 282150, 282130, 282154, 282136, 282152, 282151, 282153, 282169, 282149, 282155, 282157, 282160, 282158, 282159, 282161, 282167, 282168, 282123, 282162, 282165, 282163, 282166.