A significant snowstorm impacted central Alabama on December 8-9. |Within the main corridor of snow, totals of 4 to 8 inches were common, with a few swaths of 8 to 12 inches.
Every event with a place to put it; 29 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 significant snowstorm impacted central Alabama on December 8-9. The snow began during the early morning hours on December 8th and continued for nearly 24 hours.|Within the main corridor of snow, totals of 4 to 8 inches were common, with a few swaths of 8 to 12 inches. A few reports exceeding 12 inches were received from Clay and Cleburne Counties. Birmingham officially recorded 4 inches of snow, making it the 3rd snowiest December on record.
During the early portion of the event, temperature profiles were marginally supportive of wintry precipitation due to surface temperatures a few degrees above freezing, and many areas were receiving rain or a rain/snow mix; however, by daybreak, many areas had made the transition to snow as colder air moved in from the north; a period of drier air aloft that allowed for evaporative cooling; and higher precipitation rates. Through the afternoon, snow continued to fall across much of central Alabama. While surface temperatures were varied with some areas at freezing and some a degree or two above freezing, notable accumulations began to manifest. An overrunning setup provided an long fetch of moisture from the southwest, and lift alongside favorable conditions in the snow growth zone resulted in swaths of heavy snowfall and large snowflakes. Colder air had not yet made it to areas near and southeast of the I-85 corridor, and those areas continued to see rain during the afternoon; however, a change to snow occurred into the evening and nighttime hours just in time for the last surge of precipitation, with little to no accumulation.
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 Dec 8, 5:33 AM CST, 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 533 AM CST Fri Dec 8 2017 .UPDATE... For 12Z Aviation. && .SHORT TERM... Today and Tonight. Southwest to northeast band of precipitation has set up across the area as expected. Temperatures range from 35-37 in this area. Already have received reports of snow in Jefferson and Blount Counties, and WFO MOB recently received a report of 0.5" in accumulation in Choctaw County, just south of Sumter County. Also just saw a report of snow covering the ground in St. Clair County. Expect precipitation to continue to change over to snow over the next few hours, with the main rain-snow line setting up just north of I-85 by midday. But areas north of this line could switch back and forth between rain/snow throughout the day based on precipitation rates and hourly temperature trends. Models are in excellent agreement on precipitation trends through the day today. Confidence in the meteorological conditions for snow is high, with the main point of uncertainty being somewhat non- meteorological factors which will determine what happens to the snow when it comes into contact with the warm ground, roads, etc. Short- term models have trended cooler with air temperatures near the surface, and they should be sitting right around 32-34 while the snow is falling, so there is now increasing concern for travel impacts especially on bridges and overpasses. Also, precipitation amounts have trended higher. Forecast soundings generally show saturated sub-freezing profiles, with mid-level ascent in the dendritic growth zone. Some ice pellets may mix in at times with an isothermal 0C layer present at times, but snow should be predominant. Model consensus has also trended wetter for this afternoon, with moisture remaining in the area longer as continued synoptic forcing occurs ahead of the trough. The warm ground temperatures will make it difficult for accurate snowfall measurements, but WPC snowfall amounts and SREF mean values now indicate a swatch of 1-2+" across the area. Really can't argue with that based on trends, so portions of the winter weather advisory were upgraded to a winter storm warning. There could be a relative minimum in the middle of the warning area along the I-65 corridor where amounts stay just under the 2" criteria. This would be between relative maxima in the southwest counties where heavier precipitation is falling now during the overnight hours, and another relative maxima in the higher elevations of East Alabama. However, opted to go ahead and fill in the gap as it will be close. The advisory was also expanded to include Pickens, Fayette, and Walker Counties based on northward trends. Models are suggesting a deformation zone may set up over the southeast counties later this afternoon and this evening, south of the current winter weather advisory. Thermal profiles suggest this will be mainly rain, but it will be borderline. Added in some small 0.1" accumulations southeast of the current advisory, and will monitor short term model trends to determine if the advisory needs to be expanded for tonight. Temperatures will fall into the 20s late tonight across the area, resulting in the potential for black ice to develop wherever moisture remains on roadways. 32/Davis .LONG TERM... Saturday through Thursday. Extended remains dry and fairly uneventful as compared to the short term. After a cool weekend, we modify into the 50s/low 60s on Monday before the next dry clipper cold front slides through. This system will cool the area back into the 40s and low 50s for a couple of days. We will then modify again into the upper 50s low 60s by Thursday ahead of the next system expected by next weekend. 16 && .AVIATION... 12Z TAF Discussion. Rain will transition to snow at all but TOI this morning followed by an end to the precipitation from northwest to southeast from late this afternoon and into the evening hours. Low level winds will remain out of the north. Temperatures will rise above freezing from midday through early afternoon, however, all terminals are expected to experience freezing temperatures after 03z north and after 10z south, resulting in any remaining moisture on surfaces freezing as ice. ACARS data from a flight into BHM at 10Z had a freezing level of 1752 feet and wet bulb zero height of 1206 feet. Expect freezing levels to continue to fall towards the surface into mid morning then rise through midday with above-freezing temperatures expected at the surface. 05 && .FIRE WEATHER... Cloudy and cold conditions through tonight with low mixing heights. Rain chances remain fairly high across areas south of I-20, with a mixture of rain/snow for the northern areas. A cold but drier airmass builds for the weekend. Relative humidity values will remain above critical values due to cold temperatures and rain, and there are no fire weather concerns. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 36 26 44 23 44 / 80 10 0 0 0 Anniston 36 26 45 24 43 / 100 30 0 0 0 Birmingham 35 26 46 25 46 / 80 10 0 0 0 Tuscaloosa 37 27 48 26 48 / 80 0 0 0 0 Calera 36 27 46 26 45 / 90 10 0 0 0 Auburn 38 29 44 27 44 / 100 80 10 0 0 Montgomery 38 28 47 26 46 / 100 60 10 0 0 Troy 39 29 47 27 47 / 100 80 10 0 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES/... Winter Weather Advisory until midnight CST tonight for the following counties: Autauga...Blount...Chambers...Cherokee... Dallas...Elmore...Etowah...Fayette...Jefferson...Lamar... Pickens...St. Clair...Tuscaloosa...Walker. Winter Storm Warning until midnight CST tonight for the following counties: Bibb...Calhoun...Chilton...Clay...Cleburne... Coosa...Greene...Hale...Marengo...Perry...Randolph...Shelby... Sumter...Talladega...Tallapoosa. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Birmingham AL 335 AM CST Fri Dec 8 2017 ALZ011>015-017>050-091245- Marion-Lamar-Fayette-Winston-Walker-Blount-Etowah-Calhoun-Cherokee- Cleburne-Pickens-Tuscaloosa-Jefferson-Shelby-St. Clair-Talladega- Clay-Randolph-Sumter-Greene-Hale-Perry-Bibb-Chilton-Coosa-Tallapoosa- Chambers-Marengo-Dallas-Autauga-Lowndes-Elmore-Montgomery-Macon- Bullock-Lee-Russell-Pike-Barbour- 335 AM CST Fri Dec 8 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the counties served by the National Weather Service office in Birmingham. .DAY ONE...Outlook through Tonight. There is an increasing confidence of snowfall accumulation through tonight. Total snow accumulations up to 3 inches is now expected, primarily on grassy and elevated surfaces, with locally higher accumulations possible. Areas most likely impacted will be along and south of Interstate 20 and north of US 80 and Interstate 85. Please refer to the Winter Weather products for up to date information on advisories and warnings. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. Hazardous weather is not expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Activation of storm spotters and emergency management will be needed through tonight.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
410 AM CST FRI DEC 8 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0405 AM SNOW SHELBY 33.11N 86.58W
12/08/2017 U0.0 INCH SHELBY AL FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
SNOW AND SLEET MIX STARTING TO ACCUMULATE ON
ELEVATED SURFACES.
&&
JHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
513 AM CST FRI DEC 8 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0510 AM SNOW SHELBY COUNTY AIRPORT 33.18N 86.78W
12/08/2017 M0.0 INCH SHELBY AL OFFICIAL NWS OBS
TRACE OF SNOW MEASURED AT THE SHELBY COUNTY
AIRPORT.
&&
JHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
559 AM CST FRI DEC 8 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0550 AM SNOW ONEONTA 33.95N 86.47W
12/08/2017 M0.3 INCH BLOUNT AL PUBLIC
A QUARTER INCH OF SNOW REPORTED NEAR
ONEONTA. REPORT RELAYED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA BY
BROADCAST MEDIA.
&&
JHThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
29 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall totals averaged 5-7 inches across the southern portions of Sumter County tapering off to 3 inches across the north.
Snowfall totals averaged 3-5 inches across the southern portions of Greene County tapering off to 2 inches across the north.
Snowfall totals averaged 4-6 inches across Hale County.
Snowfall totals averaged 5-7 inches across Marengo County.
Snowfall totals averaged 4-6 inches across Bibb County.
Snowfall totals averaged 4-6 inches across Perry County.
Snowfall totals averaged 5-7 inches across Shelby County.
Snowfall totals averaged 5-7 inches across Chilton County.
Snowfall totals averaged 5-7 inches across Talladega County with a few reports near 10 inches in the far southeast.
Snowfall totals averaged 5-8 inches across Calhoun County with a few reports near 10 inches in the far southeast.
Snowfall totals averaged 8-10 inches across Cleburne County with a few locations reporting near 12 inches.
Snowfall totals averaged 4-6 inches across the southern portions of Jefferson County tapering off to 2-3 inches across the north.
Snowfall totals averaged 3-4 inches across Tuscaloosa County.
Snowfall totals averaged 4-6 inches across St. Clair County.
Snowfall totals averaged 2-3 inches across Pickens County.
Snowfall totals averaged 2-3 inches across the southern portions of Walker County tapering off to less than 1 inch across the north.
Snowfall totals averaged 8-10 inches across Clay County with a few reports near 12 inches.
Snowfall totals averaged 7-10 inches across Randolph County with a few reports near 12 inches.
Snowfall totals averaged 2-3 inches across the southern portions of Lamar County tapering off to less than 1 inch across the north.
Snowfall totals averaged 2-3 inches across the southern portions of Fayette County tapering off to less than 1 inch across the north.
Snowfall totals averaged 3-4 inches across the southeast portions of Blount County tapering off to 2 inches across the northwest.
Snowfall totals averaged 3-5 inches across Etowah County.
Snowfall totals averaged 3-5 inches across Cherokee County.
Snowfall totals averaged 4-6 inches across Coosa County with a few reports near 10 inches in the far north.
Snowfall totals averaged 5-7 inches across the northern portions of the Tallapoosa County tapering off to 1-2 inches across the south.
Snowfall totals averaged 4-6 inches across the northern portions of Dallas County and 3-5 inches across the southern half.
Snowfall totals averaged 4-6 inches across Autauga County.
Snowfall totals averaged 4-6 inches across the northwest portions of Elmore County tapering off to 1 inch in the southeast.
Snowfall totals averaged 4-6 inches across the northern portions of Chambers County tapering off to 2 inches across the south.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, December 2017
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: 732557, 732558, 732559, 732560, 732561, 732562, 732563, 732564, 732565, 732566, 732567, 732585, 732586, 732587, 732588, 732589, 732568, 732569, 732590, 732591, 732592, 732593, 732594, 732575, 732577, 732570, 732571, 732572, 732584.