Rare types of snowflakes in Alabama

The above balloon data from NWS Birmingham at 5 pm last evening show the extremely cold air in the lower levels, and the continued instability, due to temperatures dropping rapidly with height, that has been in place since Sunday morning.  A lot of the snow that fell across Alabama today was, in effect, convective, meaning it was caused by unstable air, much like summer thunderstorms (see earlier post about this phenomenon here https://www.alabamawx.com/?p=37601.  With air this cold, the snowflakes are very dry and small, not wet and sticky like most Alabama snow, that produces the large aggregate snow flakes (many stuck together) we usually see. 

Most places in central Alabama have not seen significant accumulation as of this writing at 200 am, but some higher terrain areas may have 1″ on the ground.  Many places in north Alabama may have more widespread travel problems early this morning.

Category: Met 101/Weather History, Winter Weather