Below normal rainfall over portions of west central Alabama during December 2017 continued into January 2018, resulting in worsening drought conditions this area.
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.
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.
Below normal rainfall over portions of west central Alabama during December 2017 continued into January 2018, resulting in worsening drought conditions this area.
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 Jan 16, 11:33 AM CST, 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 1133 AM CST Tue Jan 16 2018 .UPDATE... For 18Z Aviation. && .SYNOPSIS... Water vapor imagery and global model data is in good agreement in a sharp positively-tilted trough extending from Michigan and extending southwest across northern Indiana through central Illinois and into central Missouri and further extends southwest into central Oklahoma. Toward the surface, an extensive arctic front just north of Mobile to near Prattville further northeast to near Alexander City and was continuing to slide southeast. Satellite imagery shows mostly cloudy to cloudy skies across all but our southeast counties, roughly from Montgomery to Alexander City and points southeast, where mostly sunny skies were observed. Radar data shows a large, extensive precipitation shield consisting mostly of snow that extends from west-central Mississippi northeast across our west-central, northwest and northern counties and extends further north and east to include much of far northern Alabama and into central and eastern Tennessee. 05 && .SHORT TERM... Despite surface temperatures that have risen above freezing over the past few hours roughly along and southeast of the Interstate 59 corridor we continue to observe noticable temperature decreases across our west-central and northwest counties as the precipitation has started to fall. The main concern continues to be the risk of snow melting when it comes into contact with road surfaces and then the moisture will freeze onto the pavement as temperatures fall below freezing, creating icy patches and slick spots on roadways. A winter weather advisory remains in effect as snow will continue affect our northwest counties with snow eventually impacting more of our central counties early this afternoon along with portions of our south and eastern counties this afternoon and evening. Changes in the overall thinking is not huge. The one difference is that the area of rain that is developing over southwestern AL/southeastern MS will move into the southeast ahead of the front and may provide a brief window of rain before the snow starts. This will do two things. One it will moisten the overall column and two it will begin to cool down the airmass ahead of the Arctic air. So we are still expecting a significant impact to the area even with light amounts (2 inches or less). This a slow moving band and will take almost sort of a staircase approach through the state. Currently watching another band developing further south in MS and this will then slide east into the area. The approaching vort max at 500mb appears very impressive this afternoon into tonight and will have an opportunity to enhance the snow band as it moves east of I-59. PWAT values will surge in this zone, and additional lift could result in snowfall amounts exceeding our current forecast. The ECMWF, several European Ensemble members, and the Regional Canadian indicate the potential for 2-4 inch amounts along and east of I-59 all the way to our eastern and southern borders. This scenario will be monitored for a possible upgrade to a Winter Storm Warning. Impacts could be significant across our entire forecast area due to temperatures falling into the 20s and teens as the snow falls. A Wind Chill Advisory has been issued for the entire area for tonight and Wednesday morning for wind chills of 5 above zero to 5 below zero. 05/16/87 .LONG TERM... Wednesday through Monday. Wednesday/Thursday: Strong cold air advection will be in place on Wednesday, on the back side of the upper trough and to the east of a 1042mb surface high centered over the Southern Plains/Ozarks. Clear skies will be present due to the dry Arctic air mass, but midday 925 mb temperatures around -12C and potential snowcover will keep temperatures below freezing across the majority of the area (generally north of US80/I-85). Highs will range from the upper 20s to low 30s north and be in the low 30s south. If the expected band of snow across the southeastern counties materializes then high temperatures there may need to be lowered. With breezy northwest winds wind chills will still be in the upper teens to low 20s even in the afternoon. Another hard freeze is expected Wednesday night as the surface high moves eastward across the Deep South with lows in the teens areawide. The deep layer flow will become westerly on Thursday. This will allow cold air advection to cease. But the air mass being advected in from the west will still be cool initially, coming off an additional area of snowcover over the ArkLaMiss. This combined with shallow mixing due to high pressure overhead will only allow highs to reach the low 40s. Temperatures will rise above freezing by midday. Another cold night is expected Thursday night as high pressure overhead results in ideal radiational cooling conditions. All but the coldest spots in the northeast will remain above hard freeze criteria (15), with lows ranging from the upper teens far north to low 20s elsewhere. Friday/Saturday: The trough currently moving into the Pacific Northwest will split into a couple pieces as it moves eastward, with the southern piece forming a partially cutoff low over the Rio Grande region. These waves will remain moisture starved over our area with just mid/high level clouds at times. Warm air advection kicks in for Friday/Saturday with deep layer west-southwesterly flow, allowing highs to reach the 50s Friday and low 60s by Saturday. Sunday/Monday: A stronger Pacific trough will move across the CONUS during this time period. This allows a Colorado low to deepen as it moves northeast into the Great Lakes with a trailing cold front moving through the area. There could be enough moisture ahead of the front for some scattered showers Sunday. Models/ensembles are showing some usual spread in the timing of the front, but expect a line of widespread showers and at least isolated thunderstorms to move across the area sometime in the Sunday night/early Monday timeframe. Models show 60 dewpoints trying to creep up into our southern counties, but dewpoints could easily underachieve given this week's cold front scouring out moisture across the Gulf, and a southeasterly component to the winds across our area. This will be the main limiting factor for the development of any instability across Central Alabama ahead of a possible QLCS. Will continue to monitor given the shear and forcing, and mid-level lapse rates around 6-6.5 C/km. But any low-end severe threat looks far too marginal/questionable to mention in the HWO at this time. 32/Davis && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF Discussion. MVFR to IFR conditions expected this afternoon and evening with light snow at most terminals. Improving conditions expected on Wednesday. An arctic front extended from near Mobile northeast to near Montgomery to near Alexander City at this hour. Winds will shift abruptly to the north upon passage of the front at MGM/TOI in the next few hours. Expect lowering ceilings at our northern sites from west to east as more snow arrives from the west. Our southern sites will experience lowering ceilings later this afternoon and evening as more precipitation develops over southwest Alabama and moves to the northeast. Low level winds will remain out of the north with some LLWS expected in a shallow layer just off of the surface through the next few hours at ANB/ASN/EET. Precipitation and coverage of BKN/OVC skies will subside after 06Z tonight followed by continued improvement of CIG's through the end of the cycle. 05 && .FIRE WEATHER... An Arctic front will move across the area today with light to moderate snow likely areawide. Dry and very cold conditions are expected Wednesday. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 33 12 29 14 41 / 100 40 0 0 0 Anniston 40 12 29 17 42 / 100 90 0 0 0 Birmingham 32 12 30 15 42 / 100 40 0 0 0 Tuscaloosa 34 13 32 16 43 / 100 20 0 0 0 Calera 36 13 30 18 43 / 100 70 0 0 0 Auburn 51 16 31 18 43 / 50 100 10 0 0 Montgomery 49 16 33 18 44 / 70 100 10 0 0 Troy 54 17 33 18 44 / 20 90 10 0 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES/... Hard Freeze Warning from 9 PM this evening to 9 AM CST Thursday for the following counties: Autauga...Barbour...Bibb...Blount... Bullock...Calhoun...Chambers...Cherokee...Chilton...Clay... Cleburne...Coosa...Dallas...Elmore...Etowah...Fayette...Greene... Hale...Jefferson...Lamar...Lee...Lowndes...Macon...Marengo... Marion...Montgomery...Perry...Pickens...Pike...Randolph... Russell...Shelby...St. Clair...Sumter...Talladega...Tallapoosa... Tuscaloosa...Walker...Winston. Winter Weather Advisory until 6 AM CST Wednesday for the following counties: Autauga...Barbour...Bibb...Blount... Bullock...Calhoun...Chambers...Cherokee...Chilton...Clay... Cleburne...Coosa...Dallas...Elmore...Etowah...Fayette...Greene... Hale...Jefferson...Lamar...Lee...Lowndes...Macon...Marengo... Marion...Montgomery...Perry...Pickens...Pike...Randolph... Russell...Shelby...St. Clair...Sumter...Talladega...Tallapoosa... Tuscaloosa...Walker...Winston. Wind Chill Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 9 AM CST Wednesday for the following counties: Autauga...Barbour...Bibb...Blount... Bullock...Calhoun...Chambers...Cherokee...Chilton...Clay... Cleburne...Coosa...Dallas...Elmore...Etowah...Fayette...Greene... Hale...Jefferson...Lamar...Lee...Lowndes...Macon...Marengo... Marion...Montgomery...Perry...Pickens...Pike...Randolph... Russell...Shelby...St. Clair...Sumter...Talladega...Tallapoosa... Tuscaloosa...Walker...Winston. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Birmingham AL 450 AM CST Tue Jan 16 2018 ALZ011>015-017>050-171400- 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- 450 AM CST Tue Jan 16 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the counties served by the National Weather Service office in Birmingham. .DAY ONE...Outlook Through Tonight. An Arctic cold front is expected to bring light to moderate snow to all of Central Alabama today and tonight. Snow accumulations are forecast to remain under 2 inches, but temperatures in the 20s as the snow occurs could lead to significant impacts to travel. The cold air mass will result in a hard freeze with temperatures falling into the teens tonight, with single digits possible in a few locations across the north. Hazardous wind chills are also expected, falling into the single digits below zero across the north and into the single digits above zero across the south. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. Temperatures in the teens and hazardous wind chills near or just below zero will continue into Wednesday morning. Another hard freeze with temperatures falling into the teens is expected Wednesday night into Thursday morning. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Activation of storm spotters and emergency management may be required today and tonight.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
754 AM CST TUE JAN 16 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0750 AM SNOW HALEYVILLE 34.24N 87.62W
01/16/2018 U0.0 INCH WINSTON AL PUBLIC
SNOW COVERING ROADWAY IN HALEYVILLE.
&&
JHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
806 AM CST TUE JAN 16 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0745 AM SNOW GUIN 33.97N 87.91W
01/16/2018 U0.0 INCH MARION AL BROADCAST MEDIA
RADIO STATION LISTENER REPORTS ROADS IN
HAMILTON, WINFIELD, GUIN AND GU-WIN ARE
COVERED WITH SNOW.
&&
JHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
842 AM CST TUE JAN 16 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0835 AM SNOW HACKLEBURG 34.27N 87.83W
01/16/2018 U0.0 INCH MARION AL BROADCAST MEDIA
SNOW STARTING TO ACCUMULATE ON SECONDARY
ROADS IN HACKLEBURG.
&&
JHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
929 AM CST TUE JAN 16 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0927 AM SNOW 1 ENE BEXAR 34.19N 88.13W
01/16/2018 U0.0 INCH MARION AL LAW ENFORCEMENT
MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE REPORTS SOME
SLICK SPOTS ON LESS TRAVELED COUNTY ROADS
FROM MELTED SNOW IN THE WESTERN PORTION OF
THE COUNTY.
&&
JHThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Much below normal rainfall caused the drought intensity to worsen from a D1 at the beginning of the month to a D3 by the end of the month.
Much below normal rainfall caused the drought intensity to worsen from a D1 at the beginning of the month to a D3 by the end of the month.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, January 2018
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: 737789, 737790.