Ice Potential Monday Morning
This post concerns potential for ice accumulation across North/Central Alabama late Sunday night and Monday morning. See this post for a detailed overview of the entire winter storm event that will impact Alabama.
The new morning run of the NAM model suggests potential ice accumulation of 0.35″ to 0.40″ at Birmingham between midnight tomorrow night and Monday afternoon. (Data below is from the BUFKIT model analysis program)
Freezing rain is the most serious element of any winter storm; this is rain falling (in liquid form) with surface temperatures of 32 degrees or colder. It can coat exposed objects with ice, and if the freezing rain falls long enough, it can bring down trees and power lines.
Usually, for a major ice storm with widespread power outages, you need about 0.50″ of ice accumulation. It looks like we will be under this amount, but understand forecasting precipitation type and amount is a challenge in this kind of situation. We still project the best chance of freezing rain south of a line from Vernon to Jasper to Oneonta to Gadsden, with mostly snow to the north.
Here is output from the new NAM model, valid at 12:00 noon Monday…
It would not hurt to prepare for power outages in the event we get more freezing rain that we bargain for.
ALABAMA POWER IS READY, ARE YOU? Our friends at Alabama Power are monitoring the forecast closely, ready to deploy people and assets to quickly address any outages that might occur. Read a special message from Ike Piggot about their commitment to their customers.
Stay tuned for frequent updates throughout the weekend.
Category: Alabama's Weather
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James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.Subscribe
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