The 8th version of the ABC 33/40 Storm Alert tour kicks off this Thursday night in Ashville. We will be at Ashville High School; and even though the show begins at 7:00 we suggest you get down there by 6:30 or so to get a good seat. The show is designed to get Alabamians ready for the spring tornado season, and has become quite a tradition.
This year you will meet the “new kid on the block”, Jason Simpson. I went up to Holly Pond, Jason’s hometown, to get the real scoop on this guy. As you probably know, Jason spent this past weekend up on Mt. Cheaha all iced down thanks to freezing rain, and he will share some of Bill Castle's beautiful video of the ice on Alabama’s highest mountain.
Our own Bill Murray, one of our web forecasters here at ABC 33/40, will share the story of seeing his first tornado on the Great Plains in the spring of 2004, and the day when he saw seven twisters in just a few hours. This will be complete with video; if you love good tornado footage you have to see it.
John Oldshue will look back at the severe weather days during late November 2004. Especially November 24, when 16 tornadoes touch down during the early morning hours, touching down in places like Bynum, Talladega, Lake Mitchell, and Autaugaville. It was the year for the early morning tornado in Alabama.
And, of course, Brian Peters will share the biggest weather story of the year, Hurricane Ivan. Brian flew into the storm when it peaked in intensity over the warm Gulf waters, and covered it on the ground at Gulf Shores. In addition to more weather stories, we will have some cool prizes to give away. See you Thursday night at Ashville High School at 7:00!
See more details and the complete schedule here:
http://beta.abc3340.com/external.hrb?p=sa2005&w=1
Storm Alert 2005 Begins This Week!
January 31, 2005, 10:49 pm
by James Spann
in General Thoughts
Never A Dull Moment
January 31, 2005, 4:08 pm
The afternoon video is on the server:
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
Nice little mid-week storm in the always tricky split flow regime. We will mention the chance of some light rain at times tonight and tomorrow, with the best chance of getting wet coming for areas south of Birmingham. Rain is likely statewide Wednesday, and the 12Z NAM is spitting out almost 1.5 inches of rain here.
Late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning the critical thickness values drop southward, giving the snow fans a little hope for something on the tail end of the system. It is possible we could see a little light snow or flurries late Wednesday nignt or early Thursday morning, but the best chance would be north of a line from Vernon to Cullman to Scottsboro. Even up there it doesn't look like it will amount to much now. These southern branch systems in a split-flow are very hard to deal with... always great potential for forecast busts.
A pretty good chance the sun comes out in decent supply Friday and Saturday before clouds return Sunday. I expect a good rain early next week, with the potential for a major change to colder weather in the Febraury 9-12 time frame. I do not like the way the 12Z GFS handles this... see the video for details. Watch that NAO negative spike around February 10... that is very important.
Enjoyed seeing the second graders over at Bluff Park Elementary this afternoon... about to dig into this nice cake!
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
Nice little mid-week storm in the always tricky split flow regime. We will mention the chance of some light rain at times tonight and tomorrow, with the best chance of getting wet coming for areas south of Birmingham. Rain is likely statewide Wednesday, and the 12Z NAM is spitting out almost 1.5 inches of rain here.
Late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning the critical thickness values drop southward, giving the snow fans a little hope for something on the tail end of the system. It is possible we could see a little light snow or flurries late Wednesday nignt or early Thursday morning, but the best chance would be north of a line from Vernon to Cullman to Scottsboro. Even up there it doesn't look like it will amount to much now. These southern branch systems in a split-flow are very hard to deal with... always great potential for forecast busts.
A pretty good chance the sun comes out in decent supply Friday and Saturday before clouds return Sunday. I expect a good rain early next week, with the potential for a major change to colder weather in the Febraury 9-12 time frame. I do not like the way the 12Z GFS handles this... see the video for details. Watch that NAO negative spike around February 10... that is very important.
Enjoyed seeing the second graders over at Bluff Park Elementary this afternoon... about to dig into this nice cake!
Monday Morning QB
January 31, 2005, 7:34 am
The Monday morning video is on the server:
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
Looking back at the Friday night/Saturday morning event for Alabama, I think the forecast worked out very nicely.
Here was the forecast discussion on the blog from last Thursday morning:
http://www.jamesspann.com/bmachine/wxtalk.php?id=278
No travel problems for 95 percent of our viewing area; you had to get over to the Georgia border counties (Cleburne, Randolph, and Chambers) to find significant bridge icing. No ice at all on road surfaces in those areas unless you were over 1,500 feet in elevation, like our pals Bill Castle and Jason Simpson on Mt. Cheaha. Enough ice on trees and lines for scattered power outages across those far eastern counties. Bad problems over the line in Georgia.
The warm soil temperatures were a big help (in the 44 to 47 degree range), and rain falling through the warm layer offset the evaporative cooling process right on time for Gadsden, Anniston, and Birmingham. All of this was exactly in line with our forecast package.
I will admit I was a little spooked Friday night when we saw that temperature drop from 40 to 33 in about one hour at our weather office in Riverchase, but it was steady as a rock at 33 degrees.
I still stand by the opinion that winter storm watches and warnings should be reserved for major events that call for real action, like preparing for extended power outages, airport shutdowns, and icy roads for multiple days. For most people, the Friday night/Saturday morning event was simply a cold wet period with some ice on exposed surfaces. I would indeed call it a winter storm for people in Cleburne, Randolph, and Chambers counties, but even in those areas it was a short term event. Far too many people hit the milk and bread lines Friday when it was not necessary. You call events like that a winter storm, and people won't listen when we have a real big time winter weather threat on our hands.
Much like the problem with severe thunderstorm warnings... for years I wanted to "raise the bar" on the severe thunderstorm criteria... we simply have too many severe thunderstorm warnings and people don't pay much attention to them.
Enough preaching and on to the future... split flow pattern means tough forecast. I had to introduce rain into the forecast for today simply because we have lots of rain on radar this morning! Some rain at times possible through mid-week, with the best coverage of rain on Wednesday.
You take some of the model data, and you can even see some wintry precipitation possibilities for Wednesday night for extreme north Alabama, but I don't like going wild with a forecast on Monday morning since I am coming in here without having looked at weather data too much over the weekend. Let me get settled in and we can discuss any idea on that later today.
A decent chance we finally see the sun on Friday and Saturday. Then, a significant storm moves through the southern stream in about one week with lots of rain here. The GFS does not show any phasing with the northern stream right now, but I don't trust it at all. And, I probably won't trust it this week.
Everything still looks on target for a big shot of cold air here in the February 10-12 time frame as the NAO spikes negative and a long wave trough forms over the eastern U.S. The details involving how we get there remain up in the air!
http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb
Looking back at the Friday night/Saturday morning event for Alabama, I think the forecast worked out very nicely.
Here was the forecast discussion on the blog from last Thursday morning:
http://www.jamesspann.com/bmachine/wxtalk.php?id=278
No travel problems for 95 percent of our viewing area; you had to get over to the Georgia border counties (Cleburne, Randolph, and Chambers) to find significant bridge icing. No ice at all on road surfaces in those areas unless you were over 1,500 feet in elevation, like our pals Bill Castle and Jason Simpson on Mt. Cheaha. Enough ice on trees and lines for scattered power outages across those far eastern counties. Bad problems over the line in Georgia.
The warm soil temperatures were a big help (in the 44 to 47 degree range), and rain falling through the warm layer offset the evaporative cooling process right on time for Gadsden, Anniston, and Birmingham. All of this was exactly in line with our forecast package.
I will admit I was a little spooked Friday night when we saw that temperature drop from 40 to 33 in about one hour at our weather office in Riverchase, but it was steady as a rock at 33 degrees.
I still stand by the opinion that winter storm watches and warnings should be reserved for major events that call for real action, like preparing for extended power outages, airport shutdowns, and icy roads for multiple days. For most people, the Friday night/Saturday morning event was simply a cold wet period with some ice on exposed surfaces. I would indeed call it a winter storm for people in Cleburne, Randolph, and Chambers counties, but even in those areas it was a short term event. Far too many people hit the milk and bread lines Friday when it was not necessary. You call events like that a winter storm, and people won't listen when we have a real big time winter weather threat on our hands.
Much like the problem with severe thunderstorm warnings... for years I wanted to "raise the bar" on the severe thunderstorm criteria... we simply have too many severe thunderstorm warnings and people don't pay much attention to them.
Enough preaching and on to the future... split flow pattern means tough forecast. I had to introduce rain into the forecast for today simply because we have lots of rain on radar this morning! Some rain at times possible through mid-week, with the best coverage of rain on Wednesday.
You take some of the model data, and you can even see some wintry precipitation possibilities for Wednesday night for extreme north Alabama, but I don't like going wild with a forecast on Monday morning since I am coming in here without having looked at weather data too much over the weekend. Let me get settled in and we can discuss any idea on that later today.
A decent chance we finally see the sun on Friday and Saturday. Then, a significant storm moves through the southern stream in about one week with lots of rain here. The GFS does not show any phasing with the northern stream right now, but I don't trust it at all. And, I probably won't trust it this week.
Everything still looks on target for a big shot of cold air here in the February 10-12 time frame as the NAO spikes negative and a long wave trough forms over the eastern U.S. The details involving how we get there remain up in the air!
Dutch Flood
January 30, 2005, 11:20 pm
Over half of the Netherlands lies below sea level. Dikes have been built to protect large areas of land from the sea. On this date in 1953, the Netherlands experienced its worst flood disaster in five centuries as a furious storm attacked the North Dutch Coast, with the greatest surge on record for the North Sea.
Water levels along the coast rose through the night of the 31st and surged over dikes just after midnight on the 1st. Over fifty dikes failed. Over one million acres of land was underwater as the 1953 flood reclaimed much of the land the dikes protected. 40,000 homes were destroyed. Over one hundred and thirty villages were flooded. The Dutch Surge Warning Service and UK Met Office did predict dangerously high water levels hours in advance of the storm, but high winds knocked down power and phone lines and Radio stations went off the air, complicating the warning process. Church bells had to be pressed into service to sound the alarm.
Over eighteen hundred people died. Damage was totaled at over $500 million. The storm driven surge was aided by a spring tide in which the sun, moon and earth are aligned, producing tides that are higher than normal. After the disaster, the government created an ambitious program called the Deltaworks to ensure that history would not repeat itself. Starting in 1953, a series of dams, dikes and floodgates was built to protect the Netherlands from North Sea floods.
Water levels along the coast rose through the night of the 31st and surged over dikes just after midnight on the 1st. Over fifty dikes failed. Over one million acres of land was underwater as the 1953 flood reclaimed much of the land the dikes protected. 40,000 homes were destroyed. Over one hundred and thirty villages were flooded. The Dutch Surge Warning Service and UK Met Office did predict dangerously high water levels hours in advance of the storm, but high winds knocked down power and phone lines and Radio stations went off the air, complicating the warning process. Church bells had to be pressed into service to sound the alarm.
Over eighteen hundred people died. Damage was totaled at over $500 million. The storm driven surge was aided by a spring tide in which the sun, moon and earth are aligned, producing tides that are higher than normal. After the disaster, the government created an ambitious program called the Deltaworks to ensure that history would not repeat itself. Starting in 1953, a series of dams, dikes and floodgates was built to protect the Netherlands from North Sea floods.
by Bill Murray
in General Thoughts
Birmingham's Second Greatest Snowstorm
January 29, 2005, 10:30 pm
On Tuesday, January 29th, 1936, Birmingham and much of the nation was in the middle of a significant cold wave. Three infants had died of exposure during the cold spell. Two of them suffocated when their mothers wrapped them in tightly to protect them against the cold in their beds. In the Birmingham Age-Herald, the U.S. Weather Bureau forecast called for increasing cloudiness with light rain in southwestern sections of Alabama. It also called for warmer weather on Wednesday. Cloudy weather was expected on Thursday, with warmer conditions in eastern and southern portions of the state.
The headlines of the day related to FDR’s veto of the veteran’s bill and the death of King George V. Huey Long’s wife planned to serve out the Kingfish’s unexpired term after his assassination. There was lots of continued debate about the New Deal. Gasoline Alley, Dick Tracy and Little Orphan Annie entertained Birmingham residents from the comic pages. Wednesday, January 30th was the President’s birthday. A celebratory ball was planned that night at Municipal Auditorium.
A full page ad in the Age Herald everyone to “buy something” in honor of FDR’ birthday. Blach’s advertised men’s suits for 18.95. Magnus’ Food Store at 10th Avenue and 20th Street South advertised fresh mixed eggs for 28¢ and a two pound can of Snowdrift for 52¢. One pound of Maxwell House coffee went for 28¢ and beef roast was 15¢ per pound.
Interestingly enough, the front page of the Age Herald that week carried an article that said one of the causes of careles driving was too much talking. Better to be a dull passenger than a dead one. Who would have thought that sixty eight years later, almost an identical debate would be going on about cell phones.
It started to snow at 7 a.m. on the 29th in the Magic City. And it would continue to snow for nearly twenty four hours. If temperatures had not been hovering just abut freezing, the snowfall might have been even greater. When it ended early on the 30th, eleven inches had fallen on the city. It was an all time record for any twenty four hour period and any single storm, both records that would stand until the 1993 blizzard. Fourteen people died across the state.
The headlines of the day related to FDR’s veto of the veteran’s bill and the death of King George V. Huey Long’s wife planned to serve out the Kingfish’s unexpired term after his assassination. There was lots of continued debate about the New Deal. Gasoline Alley, Dick Tracy and Little Orphan Annie entertained Birmingham residents from the comic pages. Wednesday, January 30th was the President’s birthday. A celebratory ball was planned that night at Municipal Auditorium.
A full page ad in the Age Herald everyone to “buy something” in honor of FDR’ birthday. Blach’s advertised men’s suits for 18.95. Magnus’ Food Store at 10th Avenue and 20th Street South advertised fresh mixed eggs for 28¢ and a two pound can of Snowdrift for 52¢. One pound of Maxwell House coffee went for 28¢ and beef roast was 15¢ per pound.
Interestingly enough, the front page of the Age Herald that week carried an article that said one of the causes of careles driving was too much talking. Better to be a dull passenger than a dead one. Who would have thought that sixty eight years later, almost an identical debate would be going on about cell phones.
It started to snow at 7 a.m. on the 29th in the Magic City. And it would continue to snow for nearly twenty four hours. If temperatures had not been hovering just abut freezing, the snowfall might have been even greater. When it ended early on the 30th, eleven inches had fallen on the city. It was an all time record for any twenty four hour period and any single storm, both records that would stand until the 1993 blizzard. Fourteen people died across the state.
by Bill Murray
in General Thoughts
Update - 2:00 pm
January 29, 2005, 3:13 pm
UPDATED 2 PM
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 4 pm for the following counties in Central Alabama...
Cherokee... Cleburne... Randolph
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 4pm for the following counties in North Alabama...
Jackson and DeKalb
A mixture of light rain, sleet and light freezing rain is over these counties. Trees are already coated with ice, and roads are slippery at higher elevations.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 4 pm for the following counties in Central Alabama...
Cherokee... Cleburne... Randolph
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 4pm for the following counties in North Alabama...
Jackson and DeKalb
A mixture of light rain, sleet and light freezing rain is over these counties. Trees are already coated with ice, and roads are slippery at higher elevations.
by Bill Murray
in General Thoughts
Weather Update - 10:00 a.m.
January 29, 2005, 11:00 am
Things appear to be winding down across much of Alabama this morning. The NWS Birmingham has removed several counties from the Ice Storm Warning.
An Ice Storm Warning is in effect until 1 pm for the following counties in Central Alabama...
Cherokee... Cleburne... Randolph...Lee and Chambers Counties.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until noon for the following counties in North Alabama...
DeKalb... Jackson... Marshall...
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until noon for the following counties in North Alabama...
Cullman... Madison... Morgan
Please delay travel in ice storm and winter storm warning areas until the warnings have expired. If you must travel, use extreme caution.
Temperatures have warmed above freezing except at the higher elevations of North, Northeast and East Alabama. In areas where the temperature is below freezing, the remaining light precipitation will fall as freezing rain. Additional accumulations will be light, but will continue the icing situation. In areas where the temperatures have warmed above freezing, travel problems should be ending.
The latest observations from Central Alabama:
Birmingham airport...37F
Tuscaloosa...38F
Anniston...34F
An Ice Storm Warning is in effect until 1 pm for the following counties in Central Alabama...
Cherokee... Cleburne... Randolph...Lee and Chambers Counties.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until noon for the following counties in North Alabama...
DeKalb... Jackson... Marshall...
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until noon for the following counties in North Alabama...
Cullman... Madison... Morgan
Please delay travel in ice storm and winter storm warning areas until the warnings have expired. If you must travel, use extreme caution.
Temperatures have warmed above freezing except at the higher elevations of North, Northeast and East Alabama. In areas where the temperature is below freezing, the remaining light precipitation will fall as freezing rain. Additional accumulations will be light, but will continue the icing situation. In areas where the temperatures have warmed above freezing, travel problems should be ending.
The latest observations from Central Alabama:
Birmingham airport...37F
Tuscaloosa...38F
Anniston...34F
by Bill Murray
in General Thoughts
LATE REPORTS - 9:10 AM
January 29, 2005, 10:09 am
Jerry at WEIS radio in Centre reports no travel problems in Cherokee County but still lots of icing.
NWS Birmingham says Ice Storm Warning will be extended for Cherokee... Cleburne... Randolph and Chambers Counties past its 10 a.m. expiration.
NWS Huntsville reports several road closures in Huntsville. Roads on Monte Sano iced over.
Temperatures are now above freezing at all major reporting stations across Alabama. Temperatures at or below freezing are limited Cullman County... De Kalb County... higher elevations of Madison County... Marshall County and a report of 32F at Wedowee in randolph County. As temperatures continue to warm past the freezing mark, any travel problems should begin to disappear.
It was 38F at the Birmingham Airport at 9 a.m.
NWS Birmingham says Ice Storm Warning will be extended for Cherokee... Cleburne... Randolph and Chambers Counties past its 10 a.m. expiration.
NWS Huntsville reports several road closures in Huntsville. Roads on Monte Sano iced over.
Temperatures are now above freezing at all major reporting stations across Alabama. Temperatures at or below freezing are limited Cullman County... De Kalb County... higher elevations of Madison County... Marshall County and a report of 32F at Wedowee in randolph County. As temperatures continue to warm past the freezing mark, any travel problems should begin to disappear.
It was 38F at the Birmingham Airport at 9 a.m.
by Bill Murray
in General Thoughts
Additional Notes - 8:05 AM
January 29, 2005, 9:23 am
SPOT REPORTS
7:48am - Etowah EMA reports only travel problems at higher elevation
7:40am - 30F at Branchville on Hwy 411 in St. Clair County. Heavy coating of ice on trees, cars. Still have electricity.
7:30am: Have photos from Mentone with trees and power lines weighted down with ice and down on roads.
7:25am: Carroll County, Georgia (just across border on I-20) has extensive icing on roads and on trees and power lines.
6:55am: Cleburne County EMA...Travel very hazardous, especially bridges/overpasses...a number of trees down around the county...state route 281 closed that goes toward Cheaha State Park...15 accidents during the night on Interstate 20 within Cleburn County mostly from cars sliding off the highway
Temperatures are looking better out there. Mercury now rising at many locations, edging past that freezing point.
8 AM OBSERVATIONS
Birmingham Airport...37F
Trussville...34F
Cullman...32F...mixed precipitation
Decatur and Huntsville now both 35F with light rain
Fort Payne...cloudy and 32F
Mentone...27F at 1765 feet
Collinsville...30F at 1201 feet
Mount Cheaha...28F (2407 feet)
Anniston...34F...Light Rain
Section...31F at 1368 feet elevation
Hytop...30F at 1785 feet elevation
Atlanta...28F with heavy sleet
ADDITIONAL NOTES
It's not often that you see a Winter Weather Advisory for Savannah and Charleston. But it's happening today. Freezing rain and sleet is expected through the day in southeastern Georgia and southwestern South Carolina. at 8 a.m. CST, it was...
31F in Beaufort SC...32F in Savannah GA and 31F in Charleston. 30F in Myrtle Beach.
7:48am - Etowah EMA reports only travel problems at higher elevation
7:40am - 30F at Branchville on Hwy 411 in St. Clair County. Heavy coating of ice on trees, cars. Still have electricity.
7:30am: Have photos from Mentone with trees and power lines weighted down with ice and down on roads.
7:25am: Carroll County, Georgia (just across border on I-20) has extensive icing on roads and on trees and power lines.
6:55am: Cleburne County EMA...Travel very hazardous, especially bridges/overpasses...a number of trees down around the county...state route 281 closed that goes toward Cheaha State Park...15 accidents during the night on Interstate 20 within Cleburn County mostly from cars sliding off the highway
Temperatures are looking better out there. Mercury now rising at many locations, edging past that freezing point.
8 AM OBSERVATIONS
Birmingham Airport...37F
Trussville...34F
Cullman...32F...mixed precipitation
Decatur and Huntsville now both 35F with light rain
Fort Payne...cloudy and 32F
Mentone...27F at 1765 feet
Collinsville...30F at 1201 feet
Mount Cheaha...28F (2407 feet)
Anniston...34F...Light Rain
Section...31F at 1368 feet elevation
Hytop...30F at 1785 feet elevation
Atlanta...28F with heavy sleet
ADDITIONAL NOTES
It's not often that you see a Winter Weather Advisory for Savannah and Charleston. But it's happening today. Freezing rain and sleet is expected through the day in southeastern Georgia and southwestern South Carolina. at 8 a.m. CST, it was...
31F in Beaufort SC...32F in Savannah GA and 31F in Charleston. 30F in Myrtle Beach.
by Bill Murray
in General Thoughts
A Wintry Saturday Morning in Alabama--7:30 am Update
January 29, 2005, 8:30 am
UPDATED AT 7:30 AM
Talked to Cleburne County EMA at 6:55 AM...Travel very hazardous, especially bridges/overpasses...a number of trees down around the county...state route 281 closed that goes toward Cheaha State Park...15 accidents during the night on Interstate 20 within Cleburne County mostly from cars sliding off the highway.
Report from Muscadine in extreme East Alabama...29 degreees with 1/2 inch of ice in trees, "nice glaze" on roads...no driving for awhile. This is as far as you can get in eastern Cleburne County without crossing the Georgia border.
It is a story of East Alabama faring much worse than the central and west part of the state. Here is a roundup of state and regional 7 am reports...
32 cloudy in Cullman
35 cloudy in Decatur
32 mixed precipitation at Fort Payne Airport
34 cloudy in Huntsville
37 cloudy at Birmingham Airport
32 freezing at Chattanooga
28 freezing rain in Atlanta, wind east 14, gusts 21, wind chill 17
36 cloudy at Columbus, Miss.
38 cloudy in Memphis
35 light rain in Nashville
37 cloudy in Tuscaloosa
33 at Prattville
28 in Anniston (at elevation of 1201 feet)
28 atop Mt. Cheaha
26 in Mentone, elevation 1841 feet
29 at Collinsville...on the ridge
Tallapoosa county reports several trees down blocking roadways in the new site/daviston/and jacksons gap areas. power outages in these same areas.
In Randolph County, significant travel problems but streets are OK in Roanoke--reported by EMA.
Other reports...32 in Grayson Valley (NE edge of BHM) with a "nice glaze of ice" driving ok...Munford layer of ice covering trees and power lines, 32 degrees...Lee County, icy bridges and overpasses but "not bad"...Centre in NE Alabama has 29 degrees...Dekalb County, widespread icing on roads in the north part of the countyu including Mentone, Ider, Henagar and on other parts of Lookout Mountain...Tallapoosa County, a few trees down from ice load in NE part of county...6 am temperature 28 in Anniston at elevation of 1201 feet...temperature on Mt. Cheaha 29, no wind report because wind instruments are locked up by ice load
THE ATLANTA STORY
Numerous roads closed including parts of the interstate system...numerous traffic accidents and news reports indicate 3 fatalities in those...at 7 AM, CST, it was 28 in Atlanta with freezing rain with east wind 14 MPH and gusts to 21 with a wind chill of 17.
NORTHWEST SOUTH CAROLINA
You will have problems going through there today on Interstate 85. In the Greenville-Spartanburg area, 3 to 6 inches of snow and sleet is expected this afternoon.
Talked to Cleburne County EMA at 6:55 AM...Travel very hazardous, especially bridges/overpasses...a number of trees down around the county...state route 281 closed that goes toward Cheaha State Park...15 accidents during the night on Interstate 20 within Cleburne County mostly from cars sliding off the highway.
Report from Muscadine in extreme East Alabama...29 degreees with 1/2 inch of ice in trees, "nice glaze" on roads...no driving for awhile. This is as far as you can get in eastern Cleburne County without crossing the Georgia border.
It is a story of East Alabama faring much worse than the central and west part of the state. Here is a roundup of state and regional 7 am reports...
32 cloudy in Cullman
35 cloudy in Decatur
32 mixed precipitation at Fort Payne Airport
34 cloudy in Huntsville
37 cloudy at Birmingham Airport
32 freezing at Chattanooga
28 freezing rain in Atlanta, wind east 14, gusts 21, wind chill 17
36 cloudy at Columbus, Miss.
38 cloudy in Memphis
35 light rain in Nashville
37 cloudy in Tuscaloosa
33 at Prattville
28 in Anniston (at elevation of 1201 feet)
28 atop Mt. Cheaha
26 in Mentone, elevation 1841 feet
29 at Collinsville...on the ridge
Tallapoosa county reports several trees down blocking roadways in the new site/daviston/and jacksons gap areas. power outages in these same areas.
In Randolph County, significant travel problems but streets are OK in Roanoke--reported by EMA.
Other reports...32 in Grayson Valley (NE edge of BHM) with a "nice glaze of ice" driving ok...Munford layer of ice covering trees and power lines, 32 degrees...Lee County, icy bridges and overpasses but "not bad"...Centre in NE Alabama has 29 degrees...Dekalb County, widespread icing on roads in the north part of the countyu including Mentone, Ider, Henagar and on other parts of Lookout Mountain...Tallapoosa County, a few trees down from ice load in NE part of county...6 am temperature 28 in Anniston at elevation of 1201 feet...temperature on Mt. Cheaha 29, no wind report because wind instruments are locked up by ice load
THE ATLANTA STORY
Numerous roads closed including parts of the interstate system...numerous traffic accidents and news reports indicate 3 fatalities in those...at 7 AM, CST, it was 28 in Atlanta with freezing rain with east wind 14 MPH and gusts to 21 with a wind chill of 17.
NORTHWEST SOUTH CAROLINA
You will have problems going through there today on Interstate 85. In the Greenville-Spartanburg area, 3 to 6 inches of snow and sleet is expected this afternoon.
by J.B. Elliott
in Winter Weather