A low pressure system moved east through the deep South producing areas of freezing rain and some sleet across northwest Alabama into southern middle Tennessee. Although far worse conditions occurred just north of Alabama, up to 1/4 inch of ice accumulation occurred in northwest Lauderdale County, and around 1/10 inch of ice accumulation was reported in Franklin, Colbert and Limestone Counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 low pressure system moved east through the deep South producing areas of freezing rain and some sleet across northwest Alabama into southern middle Tennessee. Although far worse conditions occurred just north of Alabama, up to 1/4 inch of ice accumulation occurred in northwest Lauderdale County, and around 1/10 inch of ice accumulation was reported in Franklin, Colbert and Limestone Counties. The freezing rain fell on the 16th during the morning and afternoon hours. Precipitation ended during the early evening after a brief mix of very light snow.
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 Feb 16, 6:38 AM CST, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
638 AM CST MON FEB 16 2015
.UPDATE...
FOR 12Z TAFS
&&
.DISCUSSION...
/ISSUED 451 AM CST MON FEB 16 2015/
...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE...COLBERT AND
LAUDERDALE COUNTIES IN ALABAMA. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE
REMAINDER OF AREA EXCEPT FOR CULLMAN COUNTY...
THE SURFACE LOW THAT WILL BRING WINTER WEATHER TO THE AREA TODAY WAS
LOCATED IN THE ARKLATEX AREA THIS MORNING WITH AN INVERTED TROUGH
EXTENDING UP INTO OUR AREA. 06Z SOUNDINGS THIS MORNING FROM BMX
SHOWED A PRONOUNCED WARM NOSE JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE EXTENDING UP
THROUGH 750MB LAYER...WHICH WAS CAPTURED WELL ON NAM/RAP/GFS
FORECAST SOUNDINGS AND WOULD LEAD TO BETTER SUPPORT FOR THE SUGGESTED
PROFILE FOR OUR AREA LATER THIS AFTERNOON.
BELIEVE THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO WILL UNFOLD...THE PRECIP CURRENTLY IN
MS/TN/AR WILL SPREAD EAST OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS AND MOVE INTO THE
VERY DRY AIR WE HAVE ACROSS NORTHERN ALABAMA. WITH TEMPS CURRENTLY AT
OR NEAR FREEZING...THE EVAPO COOLING WILL LOWER TEMPS AS THE
ATMOSPHERE SATURATES AND WE WILL SEE A PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN/SLEET
NEAR SUNRISE THIS MORNING ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA. THEN AS THE SURFACE
LOW MOVES CLOSER TO THE AREA THIS MORNING...STRONG WAA OUT AHEAD OF
THE LOW WILL CREATE A STRONG WARM NOSE JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE AND
PRECIP WILL CHANGE OVER TO A FREEZING RAIN/RAIN EVENT FOR AREAS SOUTH
OF A CHATTANOOGA TO MUSCLE SHOALS LINE...WITH FREEZING RAIN/SLEET
CONTINUING FOR AREAS NORTH OF THIS LINE.
THE FREEZING/RAIN SOUTH OF THIS LINE WILL CHANGE OVER TO ALL RAIN
AFTER 18Z AND CONTINUE AS ALL RAIN THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON AS SURFACE
TEMPERATURES RISE INTO THE MID TO UPPER 30S. THE AREAS NORTH OF THE
LINE ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO HOLD AT TO SLIGHTLY BELOW FREEZING
THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD. LATE THIS AFTERNOON AS THE LOW MOVES EAST OF
THE AREA AND COLD...DRY AIR MOVES IN...MOST PRECIP WILL CHANGE BACK
OVER TO FREEZING RAIN/SLEET/POSSIBLY SNOW FOR A PERIOD AROUND 00Z
THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING.
THE EXTENDED PERIOD OF AT OR BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES EXPECTED
ACROSS NW ALABAMA AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE DURING THIS EVENT
COULD LEAD TO ICE ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 0.3 INCHES...AND HAVE ISSUED A
WINTER STORM WARNING AS A RESULT. THESE ACCUMULATIONS WILL CREATE
SLICK ROADS BUT MAY RESULT IN SOME POWER INTERRUPTIONS AS IT
ACCUMULATES ON TREES AND POWER LINES. THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA IS
EXPECTED TO RECEIVE AMOUNTS LESS THAN 0.25 INCHES AND HAVE DECIDED TO
KEEP THEM UNDER A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.
THE CONCERN WITH THE FORECAST IS THE LOCATION OF THE BELOW FREEZING
TEMPERATURES AND EXACTLY HOW STRONG THE WARM NOSE ABOVE THE SURFACE
WILL BE. IF GRADIENT OF BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES SHIFTS AT ALL WE
MAY NEED TO ADJUST THE WARNING/ADVISORY. ADDITIONALLY...THE HEAVY
RAINFALL EXPECTED WITH THIS SYSTEM MAY ALLOW A MIXING OF THE WARMER
TEMPERATURES ALOFT...DOWN TO THE SURFACE...WHICH WOULD HAVE AN IMPACT
ON EXPECTED ACCUMULATIONS.
LATER THIS WEEK ANOTHER ARCTIC AIRMASS WILL DESCEND ON NORTHERN
ALABAMA WITH TEMPERATURES WEDNESDAY NIGHT/THURSDAY MORNING EXPECTED
TO BE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS WITH SOME AREAS DROPPING BELOW ZERO. THESE
TEMPERATURES WILL COMBINE WITH BREEZY CONDITIONS TO PRODUCE
DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE UNDER THE WINTER WEATHER GUN AS WE HEAD
TOWARDS THE WEEKEND WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF POSSIBLY RAIN/SNOW
SPREADING BACK INTO THE AREA.
STUMPF
&&
.AVIATION...
FOR 12Z TAFS...POOR AVIATION CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AS PRECIPITATION
BEGINS TO OVERSPREAD THE REGION AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING AREA OF LOW
PRESSURE. PRECIP WILL BEGIN AS -FZRAPL AT BOTH TERMINALS...BEFORE
TRANSITIONING TO RA AT HSV AND FZRA AT MSL LATER THIS MORNING. AS THE
LOW PRESSURE MOVES EWD THIS LATE THIS AFTN...LGT E TO SE FLOW FLOW
WILL SHIFT TO NNW AND STRENGTHEN ALLOWING COLD AIR TO INVADE THE
REGION ONCE AGAIN. PCPN WILL CHANGE BACK TO A MIX OF -FZRAPL BEFORE
ENDING AS -SN THIS EVENING. ONCE INTENSITY OF PCPN INCREASES...
CIGS/VSBYS WILL DETERIORATE TO IFR AND REMAIN IN THIS RANGE THRU END
OF TAF PERIOD.
70/DD
&&
.HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AL...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR ALZ003>010.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR ALZ001-002.
TN...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR TNZ076-096-097.
&&
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE
AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE.HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 527 AM CST MON FEB 16 2015 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-171115- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 527 AM CST MON FEB 16 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... AN APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING A WINTRY MIX OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET TO THE REGION THIS MORNING. THE PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE TO RAIN FOR MUCH OF THE REGION BY LATE MORNING...WITH THE ONLY EXCEPTION BEING ACROSS FAR NORTHWEST ALABAMA AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE WHERE FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED FOR MOST OF THE DAY. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 6 PM CST FOR THIS REGION... AND A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA...EXCEPT FOR CULLMAN COUNTY. PRECIPITATION WILL BRIEFLY CHANGE BACK TO A MIX OF SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING BEFORE ENDING AS SNOW FLURRIES ON TUESDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW OR FLURRIES ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA ON TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES OVERHEAD. THE COLDEST AIRMASS OF THE WINTER SEASON WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE AREA IN THE WAKE OF THIS DISTURBANCE...WITH LOWS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS FOR MOST OF THE AREA WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND HIGHS IN THE 20S ON THURSDAY. WIND CHILLS WEDNESDAY NIGHT WILL BE BELOW ZERO FOR ALL AREAS AND PERHAPS AS LOW AS 15 BELOW ZERO IN TENNESSEE. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL IMPACT THE REGION LATE THIS WEEK...WITH PRECIPITATION BEGINNING AS A WINTRY MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW FROM THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL MAY BE REQUESTED IN SUPPORT OF WINTER WEATHER OPERATIONS. 70/DD
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 801 AM CST MON FEB 16 2015 ALZ016-161615- CULLMAN- INCLUDING THE CITY OF...CULLMAN 801 AM CST MON FEB 16 2015 ...FREEZING RAIN POSSIBLE IN CULLMAN COUNTY... A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN POSSIBLY MIXED WITH SLEET IS POSSIBLE ACROSS CULLMAN COUNTY THROUGH 10 AM. THIS COULD RESULT IN ICY SPOTS ON MAINLY ELEVATED SURFACES SUCH AS BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. LATER THIS MORNING AND INTO THIS AFTERNOON...TEMPERATURES WILL WARM ENOUGH TO TRANSITION ANY ICE TO ALL RAIN. DJN
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
833 AM CST MON FEB 16 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0755 AM FREEZING RAIN 3 W CHEROKEE 34.76N 88.02W
02/16/2015 U0.00 INCH COLBERT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
ICING REPORTED AT HWY 72 AND NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY
OVERPASS.
&&
DJNPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
836 AM CST MON FEB 16 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0635 AM FREEZING RAIN 2 NE LYNCHBURG 35.30N 86.33W
02/16/2015 U0.00 INCH MOORE TN AMATEUR RADIO
MOORE COUNTY TN AMATUER RADIO REPORTING THIN LAYER OF ICE
COATING DECKS, VEHICLES AND SIDEWALKS. ROADS WET BUT SEEM
TO BE PRE-TREATED.
&&
DJNPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
838 AM CST MON FEB 16 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0827 AM FREEZING RAIN FLORENCE 34.80N 87.68W
02/16/2015 U0.00 INCH LAUDERDALE AL EMERGENCY MNGR
BRIDGES AND COUNTY ROADS AROUND FLORENCE ARE ICING UP DUE
TO FREEZING RAIN/SLEET.
&&
DJNThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter weather, 1 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
One to two tenths of an inch of ice accumulation occurred due to freezing rain. Trees and power lines experienced accumulation and hazardous roadways were reported.
One quarter to three quarters of an inch of ice accumulation occurred due to freezing rain. The heaviest accumulations of ice were over far northwest portions of Lauderdale County. Trees and power lines experienced heavy accumulation and a few power outages were reported.
One to two tenths of an inch of ice accumulation occurred due to freezing rain. Trees and power lines experienced accumulation and hazardous roadways were reported.
One to two tenths of an inch of ice accumulation occurred due to freezing rain. Trees and power lines experienced accumulation and hazardous roadways were reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, February 2015
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: 556008, 556009, 556010, 556011.