James Spann: Very cold air invades Alabama tonight; warmer next week
COLD AIR ROLLING IN: A cold front is pushing through Alabama this afternoon; low levels remain very dry and a decent part of the state is under a mostly sunny sky. A disturbance is pushing clouds into the Tennessee Valley this afternoon, and it could squeeze out a few snow flurries this evening, especially in areas north and east of Birmingham. If there is a snow flake or two, there won’t be any accumulation or impact; the big story is the big chill. For some places, tonight will be the coldest night so far this season.
The sky will clear late tonight, and we project a low early Saturday morning between 17 and 24 degrees, with the wind chill index between 8 and 18. The sky will be sunny Saturday, but temperatures will likely hold in the 30s over the northern third of the state. On Sunday, after a low in the 20s, temperatures will rise into the 50s by afternoon with a good supply of sunshine.
NEXT WEEK: Monday and Tuesday will be dry and pleasant, with highs at or just over 60 degrees. Rain returns to the state Wednesday and Thursday ahead of the next cold front; amounts of 1-2 inches are likely. Some thunder will be possible, but for now the risk of severe thunderstorms looks low. We can’t rule out a few snow flakes Thursday night on the back side of the departing system; Friday will be dry and colder.
ON THIS DATE IN 2014: Snow amounts of 2-4 inches were forecast across the southern half of Alabama, where a Winter Storm Warning was in effect. Some snow was in the forecast for places like Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Anniston and Gadsden, but nothing more than a dusting with no travel impact.
It was a forecast that we wish we could take back. Instead of a dusting, amounts of 1-2 inches were common across the I-20/59 corridor. Much of the snow melted initially due to warm soil, but the air temperatures were 17 to 20 degrees as the snow fell, and the snow melt quickly turned into ice — a flash freeze event rarely seen in Alabama. Roads were soon ice-covered, and as people left work early to get home, gridlock followed and a nightmare now known as “snowmageddon.” Alabama State Troopers responded to 731 vehicle accidents across the state Tuesday through Friday, Jan. 28-31. Sadly, nine deaths were attributed to accidents that occurred due to the icy road conditions. Some people were stranded on highways for more than 10 hours; many took shelter in stores, gas stations and restaurants.
In schools, teachers spent the night with, and looked after, their students whose parents were not able to pick them up and take them home. On those ice-covered highways, drivers got out of their cars to give other cars a nudge up the hill, and Good Samaritans came to the rescue in their four-wheelers. Some restaurant workers brought food and hot coffee to stranded motorists. One neurosurgeon, Dr. Zenko Hrynkiw, was at Brookwood Medical Center when he was needed for emergency brain surgery at Trinity Medical Center on Montclair Road. He would walk six miles to save the patient’s life.
It was the second-worst forecast bust in my career, topped only by the January 1982 ice storm, which started eight hours before the forecast time and brought catastrophic impact to the state.
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