15 years ago....

[Category 5]

[Brent]

The biggest snow event ever in Alabama, single storm, daily, monthly, and season records were shattered in the span of 12 hours(and we haven't even remotely close to breaking them since).

http://www.alabamawx.com/?p=6036

http://www.alabamawx.com/?p=6034 (Includes a guy's home video from Huntsville, which "only" got half the snow Birmingham did) and close to a third what others got.

Don't see this everyday:

5:00 AM 27.0 °F / -2.8 °C 25.0 °F / -3.9 °C 92% 29.49 in / 998.7 hPa 0.1 miles / 0.1 kilometers NNW 21.9 mph / 35.2 km/h / 9.8 m/s 38.0 mph / 61.1 km/h / 17.0 m/s N/A Snow , Thunderstorm Light Thunderstorms and Snow

http://www.wunderground.com/history/air ... atename=NA (that wasn't the only thundersnow observation). Winds gusted to hurricane force in some areas.

The 1993 Storm of the Century marked a milestone in U.S. weather forecasting. By March 8 (and by some accounts even earlier), several operational numerical weather prediction models and medium-range forecasters at the US National Weather Service recognized the threat of a significant snowstorm. By the 12th, many had reviewed the data and had become convinced that a serious threat loomed overhead. This marked the first time that National Weather Service meteorologists were able to predict so precisely the severity of an oncoming storm five days in advance. This enabled them to more effectively warn the public by issuing blizzard warnings two days before the storm even arrived. Even still, some disputed the claim that meteorologists were aware of the threat further ahead, since models available in 1993 were not as accurate as the models are today, which can show that accuracy. Many meteorologists completely dismissed the data as a result, but it was not long before shorter-range models began to confirm the predictions. As a result of this new and seemingly successful computer and forecasting technology, forecasters were confident enough to agree that it could support decisions by several Northeastern U.S. states to declare a State of Emergency before the snow even started to fall.[2] A few days before the storm, temperatures were also more typical across the Southeast of early March, and though large fluctuations in temperature are normal in the deep south, this caused some less-attentive residents to doubt that freezing temperatures would return rapidly and that snow was right around the corner. Certainly the fact that it doesn't snow very often or very much in the deep south added to the disbelief. In addition, many TV news stations were reluctant to forecast too much snow to the deep-southern public either, until it was definite, due to the unbelievability of the sheer numbers being predicted by the computer models (which were right), no matter how accurate they seemed, and an uncertain public reaction.

WOW...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8xt7uAnI_M

Original coverage!!!!!!!! James Spann was at Channel 6 back then(this was before ABC 33/40)