Ice Storm — Lowndes, Alabama

2011-01-09 to 2011-01-10 · Lowndes, Alabama

Event narrative

Freezing rain and sleet resulted in over one quarter inch ice accumulation on area roadways. In a few locations, near one half inch of ice accumulation was reported. Sleet accumulations up to 3 inches were also reported. Ice accumulations resulted in numerous accidents across the county. One vehicle accident resulted in one fatality (indirect) near Lowndesboro.

Wider weather episode

As a low pressure system moved across the northern Gulf of Mexico on Sunday January 9th, moisture pushed northward into Central Alabama, interacting with cold air already in place across the area. The combination of moisture and cold air brought a wintry mix of precipitation to most of Central Alabama, Sunday afternoon through Monday morning. Snowfall totals ranged from 4 to 7 inches across far north Central Alabama to 2 to 4 inches across locations from Vernon to Birmingham to Anniston. South of these locations, ice and sleet were the predominant precipitation type with around .50 inch of ice and between 1 to 3 inches of sleet reported across southern portions of the area.

Light wintry precipitation began to spread into the area during the early afternoon hours on January 9. Even though amounts were light, accumulations were increasing travel concerns and the risk for vehicle accidents. As the strong storm system neared the area, several bands of wintry precipitation moved northward across the area, sometimes becoming quite heavy, with estimated precipitations rates over 1 inch an hour. As snow and ice began to accumulate, travel conditions quickly became hazardous. Several reports of thundersnow were also noted.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 282123. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.