NWS Birmingham, Alabama

Weather Forecast Office

Snowstorm of December 8, 2017

Overview

Satellite/Surface/Upper Air

Videos

Photos

Snow Totals

Other Links

Overview

Significant snow fell across a large portion of Central Alabama along a southwest-to-northeast axis. This snow fell from December 8^th into December 9^th. Within the main corridor of snow, totals of 4 to 8 inches were common, with a few swaths of 8 to 12 inches. A few reports exceeding 12 inches were received from Clay into Cleburne Counties: one 15 inch report in Delta (Clay Co.), and two 13 inch reports (Cleburne Co.). While public reports are considered unofficial, values were fairly consistent and tend to indicate this event was a top-tier ranking snowstorm for some locations in East Alabama. Birmingham officially recorded 4 inches of snow, making it the 3^rd snowiest December on record.

During the early portion of the event, temperature profiles were marginally supportive of wintry precipitation due to surface/low-level temperatures a few degrees above freezing, and many areas were receiving rain or a rain/snow mix; however, by daybreak, many areas had made the change to snow thanks to a few variables: colder air moving in from the north; a period of drier air aloft that allowed for evaporative cooling/wet bulbing; and higher precipitation rates. Through the afternoon, snow continued to fall across much of Central Alabama and, while surface temperatures were varied with some areas at freezing and some a degree or two above freezing, notable accumulations began to manifest. An overrunning setup provided an hours-long fetch of moisture from the southwest, and lift alongside favorable conditions in the snow growth zone resulted in swaths of heavy snowfall and large snowflakes. Colder air had not yet made it to areas near and southeast of the I-85 corridor, and those areas continued to see rain during the afternoon; however, a change to snow occurred into the evening and nighttime hours just in time for the last surge of precipitation, with little to no accumulation.

Temperatures were not terribly cold during the event, resulting in the snow being heavy/wet in nature; this combined with high snow rates resulted in tree branches and trees being downed, causing several areas of power outages across Central Alabama, some of which lasted into the 1 to 2 day range following the event.

Snow Totals

Satellite/Surface/Upper Air

Satellite

MODIS Visible Satellite Dec 9th

MODIS Visible Satellite Dec 10th

GOES-13 Visible Loop Dec 9th

Surface Charts

6 AM Dec 8th	12 PM Dec 8th	6 PM Dec 8th
12 AM Dec 9th	6 AM Dec 8th

KBMX Upper Air Soundings

6 AM Dec 8th

10 AM Dec 8th

6 PM Dec 8th

Upper Air Charts

250 mb Chart at 6 AM Dec 8th	500 mb Chart at 6 AM Dec 8th	850 mb Chart at 6 AM Dec 8th
250 mb Chart at 6 PM Dec 8th	500 mb Chart at 6 PM Dec 8th	850 mb Chart at 6 PM Dec 8th

Photos

Alabaster (Shelby Co) Courtesy of Susan Falls Bailey	Saginaw (Shelby Co) Courtesy of Tara Goggins	Alexander City (Tallapoosa Co) Courtesy of Brandi Pitts	Anniston (Calhoun Co) Courtesy of John McBride
Birmingham (Jefferson Co) Courtesy of Jade Suade	Buyck (Elmore Co) Courtesy of Holley Collier	Calhoun Co Courtesy of Michelle Miklik	Clanton (Chilton Co) Courtesy of Alabama EMA
Brierfield (Bibb Co) Courtesy of Patrick McCarty	Centre (Cherokee Co) Courtesy of Christina Mladucky	Chelsea (Shelby Co) Courtesy of Corky Landwehr Adams	Clanton (Chilton Co) Courtesy of David Sillasen
Columbiana (Shelby Co) Courtesy of Travis Braden	Concord (Jefferson Co) Courtesy of John Talbot	Heflin (Cleburne Co) Courtesy of Steve Jones	Goodwater (Coosa Co) Courtesy of Aiden Lee Baker
Dixons Mill (Marengo Co) Courtesy of Tamara Norris	Fredonia (Chambers Co) Courtesy of Robin Gilbert	Hueytown Courtesy of Hueytown PD	Highland Park (Jefferson Co) Courtesy of Ashley Waring
Forney (Cherokee Co) Courtesy of Jeremy Crowden	Hueytown (Jefferson Co) Courtesy of Ali Thompson	Homewood (Jefferson Co) Courtesy of Sarah Swindle	Jemison (Chilton Co) Courtesy of Lori Bice
Jacksonville (Calhoun Co) Courtesy of Daniel Johnson	Kellyton (Coosa Co) Courtesy of Breanna Walters	Lake Tuscaloosa (Tuscaloosa Co) Courtesy of Richard Scott	Lake View (Tuscaloosa Co) Courtesy of Karen King Handley
Hollins (Clay Co) Courtesy of Lynn Tidwell	Hollis Crossroads (Cleburne Co) Courtesy of Tammy Roberson Deese	Moundville (Hale Co) Courtesy of Phyllis Samuel	White Plains (Calhoun Co) Courtesy of Jordyn Wells
Linden (Marengo Co) Courtesy of Amber Bracknell	McCalla (Jefferson Co) Courtesy of Brian Romine	Montevallo (Shelby Co) Courtesy of Matt Walker	Pelham (Shelby Co) Courtesy of Jordan Kelly
Weaver (Calhoun Co) Courtesy of Michelle Miklik	Clay (Jefferson Co) Courtesy of Jason Wood	Maylene (Shelby Co) Courtesy of Mary Keiser	Rainbow City (Etowah Co) Courtesy of Megan Lynn Fields
Straight Mtn (Blount Co) Courtesy of Travis Tucker	Osceola (Cherokee Co) Courtesy of @rc355461	Sylacauga (Talladega Co) Courtesy of Cayce Williams	Odenville (St. Clair Co) Courtesy of Emily Nesdore

Videos

Lake Purdy (Leeds, AL) - Courtesy of Matt Ezell (YouTube)

Other Links

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