Alabama, 2015

Extreme Cold in Alabama, January 7 to 8, 2015

January 7 to 8, 2015 · NWS HUN · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

An Arctic cold front pushed through the region on the afternoon of the 7th bringing gusty northerly winds of 20 to 30 mph. Temperatures fell through the 20s and quickly into the teens and single digits during the evening and overnight of the 7th.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS HUN wrote it up.

An Arctic cold front pushed through the region on the afternoon of the 7th bringing gusty northerly winds of 20 to 30 mph. Temperatures fell through the 20s and quickly into the teens and single digits during the evening and overnight of the 7th. Wind chills fell below zero during the mid to late evening hours in northern Alabama. Although winds diminished considerably through the early morning hours of the 8th, wind chills remained below zero with temperatures bottoming out in the single digits.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lauderdale

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Lauderdale forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
34.901, -87.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 8 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chills fell to around -5.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Colbert

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Colbert forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
34.700, -87.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 8 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chill at Muscle Shoals was -4.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Franklin

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
34.442, -87.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 8 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chill was around -5.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lawrence

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Lawrence forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
34.522, -87.311 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 9 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chill was -7 at the Courtland HCN site.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Limestone

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Limestone forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
34.810, -86.981 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 8 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chill at Decatur was -7.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Morgan

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Morgan forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
34.454, -86.853 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 8 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chill at Decatur was -7.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Madison

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
34.763, -86.550 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 8 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chills were -7 at Huntsville International Airport and -11 at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cullman

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Cullman forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
34.132, -86.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 8 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chills were -9 at Folsom Field in Vinemont and -8 at the Cullman HCN site.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Marshall

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Marshall forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
34.367, -86.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 8 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chills was -8 at the Albertville Airport.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Dekalb

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Dekalb forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
34.460, -85.804 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 8 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chills was -7 at Isbell Field in Fort Payne.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Jackson

When
January 7, 8:00 PM CST to January 8, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
34.779, -85.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind chills fell below zero around 8 pm on the 7th. The lowest wind chills was -5 at the Scottsboro Airport.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alabama in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, January 2015

Sources

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: 547652, 547653, 547654, 547655, 547656, 547657, 547658, 547659, 547660, 547661, 547662.