January 2014 will go down in the books as one of the coldest months ever, and Alabama Power has also met record electric demand.

The bitter cold isn’t over. Alabama will see prolonged, below freezing temperatures Monday night through Thursday evening, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). A winter storm watch is in effect as the arctic blast barrels toward southwest through central Alabama, with snow forecast for Tuesday afternoon. Thursday, Jan. 30 will usher in a slight warming trend, with daytime temperatures reaching mid- to upper 40s and dropping to a chilly 27 degrees that night.

Normal temperatures for January generally are around 50 degrees for the highs, and 30 degrees for the lows, according to John De Block, warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS center in Calera.

Alabama Power is positioned and ready to meet customers’ power needs during the cold snap. “We don’t anticipate any issues as far as meeting demand,” said Randy Castello, System Operations manager at the Alabama Control Center. (Here’s a look at how the company got ready.)

“Quite uncommon” is John De Block describes the recent cold span. De Block, who has worked at the NWS since 1999, said, “We’ve had a very unusual duration of extremely cold temperatures. We are running 5 to 6 degrees below normal for the month, so ground temperatures aren’t as warm as they would have been.”

On Tuesday, Jan. 7, a new record low for the month of January blew in at 7 degrees Fahrenheit in Birmingham. The same day, Alabama Power customers set a new winter peak for power use, as the company supplied 11,976 megawatts of electricity.
During the cold snap, remember these energy-saving tips and safety measures:

• Lower your thermostat to 68 degrees or lower. For every degree below 68, you’ll save 10 percent on heating costs.
• Limit the use of nonessential appliances such as dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers.
• An electric blanket is more economical than heating the entire house at night.
• Open shades, drapes and blinds so sunlight can help warm the home. At night, close shades, drapes and blinds to retain heat.
• Operate ceiling fans on low speed and switch in reverse to push hot air from the ceiling level to lower areas of the room.
• Use a portable electric heater to heat only a small area. Buy models that are thermostatically controlled. For safety, keep kids and pets away from equipment, and make sure the equipment is at least 3 feet away from furniture or drapes.
• It’s a great time to help needy and elderly residents with their power bills, by supporting Project SHARE. For more information about Project Share and how to help, call your local American Red Cross office.