Tire tracks mark ice and snow covering a road in Auburn, Alabama on Jan. 22, 2025. A winter storm that swept through the state on Tuesday dropped up to 11 inches of snow in some areas and led to widespread road closures. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
The winter storm that swept through Alabama on Tuesday brought record-breaking snowfall to some areas and dangerously cold temperatures.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office building in Mobile received 7.5 inches of snow during the storm. Covington County reported the highest totals, with some areas receiving up to 11 inches of snow.
“Here in the office, we broke our all-time record for snowfall, which was six inches, set back in 1895, so a very long-standing record that fell,” said Michael Mugrage, a meteorologist with the NWS in Mobile, in a phone interview Wednesday morning.
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Conditions remained potentially dangerous Wednesday morning as temperatures are expected to stay below freezing around Alabama throughout the day, with lows dipping into the teens tonight.
“Looking at things, we’re not going to get back above freezing until probably mid to late morning tomorrow. We will see how you get back up in the middle 40s, but it’s going to be short-lived,” Mugrage said. “You have a six to nine-hour window there where things are above freezing, and then we’re going back into the low 20s for tomorrow.”
An excessive cold warning remained in effect Wednesday, with single-digit temperatures reported in some northern areas of the state and teens farther south. Mobile hit a low of 12 degrees Wednesday morning. High temperatures will only reach the 30s statewide today, according to the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
The state of emergency remains in effect for Baldwin, Mobile, Clarke, Monroe, Conecuh, Lee, Russell, Geneva, Montgomery, Shelby, Elmore, Houston, Coffee, Jackson, Barbour, Crenshaw and Talladega, while the remaining 22 counties in the original order moved to “alert status.”
Crews from the Alabama Department of Transportation will be working to clear roadways and apply de-icing agents, but black ice continues to pose a significant risk.
“We did a lot of pre-treatment that can only be so effective with a storm of this nature, with those temperatures and precipitations, and then we’ve worked around the clock since the system moved in,” said Tony Harris, head of communications at ALDOT, in a phone interview Wednesday morning.
The NWS predicts that black ice will persist through Thursday morning. Conditions will improve briefly tomorrow afternoon as highs reach the middle 40s before temperatures drop back into the 20s overnight.
“If you absolutely have to [travel], make sure you have extra supplies in your vehicle—flashlight, food, water, maybe some blankets, things like that, just in the event that somehow you end up stuck. You might be there for several hours, and we still have really bitterly cold temperatures around right now,” Mugrage said.
If traveling, ALDOT suggests drivers avoid sudden braking or steering, which can cause loss of control; stay in cleared lanes and reduce speed; avoid using cruise control on icy roads and move minor crashes out of travel lanes to maintain access for emergency crews.
Amanda Wasden, a spokesperson for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), said in an email that “available troopers, including troopers assigned to ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division to assist our Highway Patrol Division, are responding to traffic crashes, road closures and assisting with traffic control in heavily impacted areas.”
Many roads across the state, from Mobile to Lee County, are considered impassable. ALEA is keeping a list here.
Warming centers across the state will remain open until temperatures reach above freezing. EMA has a current list of warming centers here, or people may call 211 for more information.
By Friday, temperatures will climb into the upper 40s and near 50 degrees, with significant melting expected.
“By the end of this week, into the weekend, we’ll be rapidly going back to normal,” Mugrage said.
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