Alabama, 2017

Extreme Cold and Winter Weather in Alabama, January 6 to 7, 2017

January 6 to 7, 2017 · NWS HUN · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Minor winter weather weather was observed Jan 6 - Jan 7. 50.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

Minor winter weather weather was observed Jan 6 - Jan 7. With a very cold air mass in place, a minor moisture return wrapping around on the backside of a surface low centered SE of the region produced light snow fall accumulations, generally around 0.50. However, higher amounts were reported in the higher elevation in DeKalb County.

Additionally, cold air convection from the NW produced widespread apparent temperatures around 0F on the morning of Jan 7. Widespread sub-zero temperatures were observed in Franklin Co (AL).

What forecasters said that day

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 Jan 6, 8:55 PM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 6, 8:55 PM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 6, 7:22 PM CST, 3 hours 38 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 6, 7:40 PM CST, 3 hours 20 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 6, 9:04 PM CST, 1 hour 56 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 6, 9:45 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 6, 9:47 PM CST, 1 hour 13 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 6, 10:49 PM CST, 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
1049 PM CST FRI JAN 6 2017

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1048 PM     SNOW             1 E MENTONE             34.57N 85.57W
01/06/2017  M2.0 INCH        DEKALB             AL   BROADCAST MEDIA

            BROADCAST MEDIA REPORTED 2 INCHES OF SNOW IN
            MENTONE. .

&&

TPB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 winter weather, 1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Dekalb

When
January 6, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Dekalb forecast zone
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
34.460, -85.804 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Reports of 0.5 to 2.00 of snow across DeKalb. Highest reports from Mentone area.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Franklin

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

Interpolated observation reports showed apparent temps dropping to around -5 F across Franklin County (AL).

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
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 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, January 2017

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 676863, 676866.