A wave of low pressure moving across Alabama into Georgia produced light freezing rain during the early morning hours of the 23rd. The precipitation produced a very light glazing of ice in parts of northeast Alabama and southern middle Tennessee.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 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 wave of low pressure moving across Alabama into Georgia produced light freezing rain during the early morning hours of the 23rd. The precipitation produced a very light glazing of ice in parts of northeast Alabama and southern middle Tennessee.
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 22, 11:49 PM CST, 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1149 PM CST SUN FEB 22 2015 .UPDATE... FOR 06Z TAFS && .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 940 PM CST SUN FEB 22 2015/ QUITE A DIFFICULT WINTER PRECIPITATION FORECAST UNFOLDING FOR THE CENTRAL TENNESSEE VALLEY THIS EVENING. CURRENT WATER VAPOR ANIMATION CLEARLY INDICATES THE PRESENCE OF SEVERAL VERY WEAK MID- LEVEL WAVES CURRENTLY TRACKING EASTWARD FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS INTO THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY REGION. WHILE THESE FEATURES HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR A GRADUAL INCREASE IN LARGE SCALE ASCENT OVER THE LOCAL AREA THIS EVENING...ISENTROPIC PROGS FROM THE NAM/GFS/ECMWF SUGGEST THAT THE STRONGEST LIFT IS LIKELY OCCURRING IN THE 9-11 KFT LAYER WITH HYDROMETEORS EMANATING FROM THIS REGION FALLING THROUGH AN INCREASINGLY DRY LAYER BEFORE REACHING THE SURFACE. NONETHELESS... LIFT AT THIS LEVEL HAS BEEN STRONG ENOUGH TO RESULT IN A LARGE REGION OF LIGHT/MODERATE STRATIFORM PRECIPITATION CURRENTLY CENTERED ACROSS SRN ARKANSAS/NRN MISSISSIPPI. CURRENT THINKING IS THAT NERN/LEADING EDGE OF THIS PRECIPITATION WILL SLOWLY SHIFT EASTWARD ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA LATE THIS EVENING. CURRENT SURFACE TEMPERATURES REMAIN AT LEAST 5 DEGREES ABOVE FREEZING FOR MOST OF THE AREA -- WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE TENNESSEE COUNTIES WHERE READINGS ARE NEAR 32F -- AND WITH LOW DEWPOINT DEPRESSIONS AND VERY LITTLE ROOM FOR EVAPORATIVE COOLING EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO COOL ONLY GRADUALLY AT THE ONSET OF PRECIP. AS A WEAK FRONTAL SURFACE WAVE -- CURRENTLY ACROSS SW GEORGIA -- LIFTS NEWD OFF THE CAROLINA COAST LATER TONIGHT...EXPECT THE SOUTHWARD ADVECTION OF COLDER ARCTIC AIR TO STRENGTHEN...WITH ROUGHLY THE NWRN HALF OF THE CWA EXPECTED TO FALL TO NEAR/SLIGHTLY BELOW FREEZING BY 06Z. AS THIS OCCURS RAIN WILL TRANSITION TO FREEZING RAIN/SLEET...WITH THIS TRANSITION ZONE WORKING SOUTHWARD AS THE FREEZING LINE MOVES SOUTHEAST OF THE AREA BY 12Z. BEST OPPORTUNITY TO SEE SNOW WILL LIKELY BE IMMEDIATELY ALONG AND NORTH OF THE TN-AL BORDER...AS ENTIRE PROFILES IN THIS REGION MAY COOL BELOW FREEZING BY THE TIME PRECIP ENDS AROUND 12Z. BASED ON REASONING ABOVE...HAVE REDUCED THREAT FOR SNOW AND INCREASED ICE ACCUMS TO 0.1-0.2 REGION WIDE AND SLEET ACCUMS TO BETWEEN A TRACE-0.25. WILL MAINTAIN WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR ENTIRE REGION...BUT WETTING RAINFALL BEFORE THE ONSET OF FREEZING RAIN MAY TEND TO LIMIT IMPACTS FROM WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A PURE GLAZE IF TEMPS WERE MUCH COOLER. PATCHES OF FROZEN WATER ON ROADS WILL STILL LIKELY IMPACT TRAVEL CONDITIONS EARLY TOMORROW MORNING. 70/DD && .AVIATION... FOR 06Z TAFS...PCPN ASSOCIATED WITH AN APPROACHING UPPER-LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL CONTINUE TO OVERSPREAD REGION FROM THE WEST...WITH RA TRANSITIONING TO -FZRAPL BY 23/07-08Z. THE PCPN AREA WILL GRADUALLY SHIFT EWD EARLY MONDAY MORNING...LIKELY ENDING FROM W-TO-E BTWN 09-10Z. DURING THE PCPN...EXPECT MVFR CIGS ARND 1500 FT AND VSBY REDUCTIONS TO 4SM IN BR. STRATUS DECK WILL BEGIN TO SLOWLY LIFT BTWN 14-15Z BUT WILL LIKELY REMAIN INTACT THRU THE DAY BENEATH OVC ALTOSTRATUS. ANOTHER WEAK DISTURBANCE WILL INITIATE LOWER STRATUS CIGS ONCE AGAIN BY 24/02Z ALONG WITH POSSIBILITY OF -SHSN. SFC WINDS WILL REMAIN FROM 350-010 WITH SUSTAINED SPEEDS ARND 12 KTS GRADUALLY WEAKENING BY END OF TAF PERIOD. 70/DD && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 9 AM CST MONDAY FOR ALZ001>010-016. TN...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 9 AM CST MONDAY FOR TNZ076-096-097. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1039 PM CST SUN FEB 22 2015 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-231115- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 1039 PM CST SUN FEB 22 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...REMAINDER OF TONIGHT... RAIN OVERSPREADING THE AREA THIS EVENING WILL TRANSITION TO A WINTRY MIX OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST AFTER MIDNIGHT AS TEMEPRATURES GRADUALLY FALL BELOW FREEZING. SOME LIGHT SNOW MAY BRIEFLY MIX WITH THE PRECIPITATION BEFORE IT ENDS AROUND SUNRISE...BUT THIS WILL MOST LIEKLY OCCUR ALONG AND NORTH OF THE ALABAMA TENNESSEE BORDER. ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF 0.1 TO 0.2 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE...ALONG WITH SLEET AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS RANGING FROM A TRACE TO ONE QUARTER OF AN INCH. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE REGION THROUGH 9 AM CST MONDAY. ALTHOUGH THE THREAT FOR WIDESPREAD WINTRY PRECIPITATION WILL SHIFT EAST OF THE AREA AROUND SUNRISE...AIR TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN BELOW FREEZING WITH FROZEN MOISTURE CREATING HAZARDOUS TRAVELING CONDITIONS ON AREA ROADS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... CHANCES FOR LIGHT SNOW FLURRIES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MID MONDAY MORNING. THERE IS ALSO A SLIGHT CHANCE OF A RAIN AND SNOW MIX ON FRIDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS POSSIBLE THROUGH MONDAY MORNING IN SUPPORT OF WINTER WEATHER OPERATIONS. 70/DD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Freezing rain accumulated to a tenth of an inch or less especially atop the higher elevations. Slick conditions also developed on bridges and overpasses.
Freezing rain accumulated of 0.01-0.03 inches of ice atop the higher elevations of the Cumberland Plateau.
Freezing rain accumulated to around 0.01 inches of ice. Slick conditions developed on bridges and overpasses.
Freezing rain accumulated to around 0.01 inches of ice. Slick conditions developed on bridges and overpasses.
Freezing rain accumulated to around 0.01 inches of ice. Slick conditions developed on bridges and overpasses.
Freezing rain accumulated to around 0.01 inches of ice. Slick conditions developed on bridges and overpasses.
Freezing rain accumulated to around 0.01 inches of ice. Slick conditions developed on bridges and overpasses.
Freezing rain accumulated to around 0.01 inches of ice. Slick conditions developed on bridges and overpasses.
Freezing rain accumulated to around 0.01 inches of ice. Slick conditions developed on bridges and overpasses.
Freezing rain accumulated to a tenth of an inch or less especially atop the higher elevations. Slick conditions also developed on bridges and overpasses.
Freezing rain accumulated to a tenth of an inch or less especially atop the higher elevations. Slick conditions also developed on bridges and overpasses.
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: 556354, 556358, 556376, 556377, 556378, 556379, 556380, 556381, 556383, 556388, 556389.