Winter Weather Awareness Week: Winter Weather History in Etowah County

This week is Winter Weather Awareness Week in Alabama, as declared by Governor Bob Riley. It is a good week to remember how winter weather can affect you, and how to prepare for it. Today we will look back at winter weather history in north-central Alabama.

Winter officially begins on December 21st and ends on March 20th. However, winter weather has often affected our area well before the winter solstice and after the spring equinox. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Birmingham indicates that the average date of the first freeze is November 9th. The average date of the final freeze is March 26th. Here is the order of the coldest months according to climatological data for Gadsden:

• January (40°)
• December (43°)
• February (44°)
• March (52°)
• November (52°)
• April (60°)
• October (62°)

On average, central Alabama receives 1.7" of snow. Here is the order of the snowiest months according to the National Weather Service in Birmingham:

• January (0.8")
• December (0.3")
• March (0.3")
• February (0.3")
• April and November (Trace)

In addition to severe weather we normally associate with winter, severe thunderstorms can also occur in the winter months. Etowah County had eight days of significant thunderstorm activity during the winter of 2008-2009; and had ten days of significant thunderstorm activity during the winter of 2007-2008.

Here are links to a couple of winter weather events that have happened in Etowah County:

Blizzard of 1993

Coates Bend Tornado of 2000

Source: National Weather Service in Birmingham: Birmingham Cold Weather Facts. Found at: http://test.crh.noaa.gov/bmx/?n=climo_winter2006bhm