After a brief moderation in temperatures on the 18th, more Arctic air arrived dropping wind chills once again below zero during the overnight of the 19th into the morning of the 20th, and again on the morning of the 21st.
Every event with a place to put it; 20 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.
After a brief moderation in temperatures on the 18th, more Arctic air arrived dropping wind chills once again below zero during the overnight of the 19th into the morning of the 20th, and again on the morning of the 21st.
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 20, 2:09 AM CST, 1 hour 51 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Huntsville AL 209 AM CST Sat Jan 20 2024 ...New AVIATION... .NEAR TERM... (Tonight) Issued at 906 PM CST Fri Jan 19 2024 The stubborn clouds that have lingered throughout the CWA for most of the morning remain in place for most of north Alabama and southern middle Tennessee. The clouds have cooled enough to support very light snow flurries throughout northwest Alabama and our Tennessee counties. No accumulations are expected as the cloud deck continues to slowly erode. The presence of the cloud deck could significantly impact the low temperature forecast tonight. Temperatures are already several degrees above forecast with the lingering cloud deck acting as an insulator. Should the clouds linger into the early morning hours we may not have quite as low of minimum winds chills Saturday morning. That being said, the Arctic air is just off to our west with several locations in NW TN reporting temperatures in the lower teens and dew points in the single digits. Regardless of if we reach forecasted lows or not, Saturday morning is going to be brutally cold. A Wind Chill Advisory is in effect for wind chills 5-10 degrees below 0. If venturing out tomorrow make sure to dress appropriately. && .SHORT TERM... (Tonight through Monday) Issued at 214 PM CST Fri Jan 19 2024 High pressure will begin to nose into the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and with clearing skies and a cold, dry air mass dangerous cold conditions will linger throughout the day. Even in spite of the sunshine, breezy northerly winds will prevent temperatures from climbing much above 20 degrees. While winds and sunshine could slightly improve road conditions, it's very likely travel impacts will continue through the day on Saturday and Saturday night. Wind chills will remain bitterly cold through the day. Some locations in our higher terrain of far NE Alabama and S. Middle Tennessee will remain near/just below zero all day, while single digits to lower Teens will be common in valley locations. Another clear and cold night will occur Saturday night into Sunday, with lows again dropping into the Single Digits and Teens, and wind chills into the 0F to -10F once again. Given these wind chill impacts during this broad timeframe, we've extended the Wind Chill Advisory through 9 AM Sunday morning to highlight these dangerous conditions! Some welcome news. By Sunday afternoon, most locations will warm above the freezing mark into at least the mid/upper 30s. Combined with ample sunshine and winds, improvements to the roads are likely. There could still be patchy spots of black ice Sunday night where refreezing occurs, but an end to the widespread travel issues will occur. Monday will feel like a return to normalcy as temperatures finally return to the upper 40s to lower 50s, melting all remaining ice or snow. Additionally, lows will remain above freezing overnight Monday night! A warming trend will continue through much of the week. More on this in the section below. && .LONG TERM... (Monday night through Thursday) Issued at 348 AM CST Fri Jan 19 2024 A more robust warming trend is expected early next week, as a storm system pushes east from the Texas towards the southeastern states. Low level southwesterly flow and upper level ridging strengthen over the area ahead of this system Monday into Tuesday. Fairly widespread rainfall looks to develop well ahead of this system Monday night into Tuesday. We stay in a active pattern into Thursday with rounds of rainfall and some thunderstorms towards Thursday. Some of these could be stronger on Thursday. Some heavy rainfall is likely sometime in that period, especially sometime between Wednesday and early next weekend, as several impulses move northeast along a stalled frontal boundary just west of the area. PWATs are very impressive climbing to between 1.1 and 1.6 inches during this period. This could cause some flooding issues if multiple rounds of heavy rainfall train over the area during that period. On a more pleasant note though, temperatures will warm into the 45 to 50 degree range on Monday and 55 to 60 degree range on Tuesday, with lows staying well above freezing. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 209 AM CST Sat Jan 20 2024 Ceilings of 025-030agl (MVFR) and even a bit of -SN continue to move south through southern middle TN and into north AL. The forecast trend is for this to continue through Saturday morning. The clouds are expected to dissipate from 19-22Z, with VFR conditions following. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...Wind Chill Advisory until 9 AM CST Sunday for ALZ001>010-016. TN...Wind Chill Advisory until 9 AM CST Sunday for TNZ076-096-097. && NEAR TERM...RAD SHORT TERM...KTW LONG TERM...KTW AVIATION...17
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
20 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind chill values dropped to as low as 2 below for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped to around zero for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped to around zero for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped to around zero for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped to as low as 2 below for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped to as low as 1 below for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped to as low as 1 below for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped to as low as 1 below for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped to around zero for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped to around zero for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped to around zero for a few hours on the morning of the 20th.
Wind chill values dropped as low as 3 below during the overnight of the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
Wind chill values dropped as low as 3 below during the overnight of the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
Wind chill values dropped as low as 3 below during the overnight of the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
Wind chill values dropped as low as 3 below during the overnight of the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
Wind chill values dropped as low as 3 below during the overnight of the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
Wind chill values dropped as low as 3 below during the overnight of the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
Wind chill values dropped as low as 3 below during the overnight of the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
Wind chill values dropped as low as 3 below during the overnight of the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
Wind chill values dropped as low as 3 below during the overnight of the 20th into the morning of the 21st.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, January 2024
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: 1157890, 1157885, 1157886, 1157887, 1157888, 1157891, 1157892, 1157893, 1157882, 1157883, 1157884, 1157906, 1157907, 1157908, 1157909, 1157910, 1157911, 1157912, 1157914, 1157915.