Brian will be along shortly with the discussion and Weather Xtreme video…
Here is a look at the greatest number of days with consecutive minimum temperatures of 32 degrees or below, based on data from the Birmingham Airport:
27 days – December 24th, 1980 – January 19th, 1981
20 days – February 6th, 1968 – February 25th, 1968
20 days – December 14th, 1963 – January 2nd, 1964
18 days – January 26th, 1978 – February 12th, 1978
17 days – January 7th, 1918 – January 23rd, 1918
17 days – January 18th, 1940 – February 3rd, 1940
17 days – December 29th, 1968 – January 14th, 1969
I have to wonder if we have a good chance of making that list here in January 2010. We expect minimum temps below 32 for at least the next 12 days, and of course the first three days of the month have featured sub-freezing lows.
LET’S BE CAREFUL THIS WEEK: Most cold weather related deaths in Alabama involve house fires, and elderly people that don’t have an adequate source of heat. The historical info below is from the NWS in Birmingham… most of the deaths from these Arctic outbreaks involved major ice storm conditions, which we do NOT expect this time. But, some of the fatalities were from exposure to the cold.
One of the most tragic outbreaks of cold weather in Alabama occurred January 10-18, 1982, when 20 people died and 300 were injured. 16,000 people were forced into emergency shelters and storm dam- age totaled 78 million dollars. The arctic outbreak of December 19-21, 1981, took the lives of at least 2 people in unheated homes and at least 17 people suffered injuries caused by slipping and falling on ice.
At least 5 people perished in the extreme cold of January 19-22, 1985, that rewrote low temperature records over much of Alabama. This storm brought ice accumulations up to one foot in Lauderdale County. Bridges were coated with ice well into Cen- tral Alabama and four people were killed in traffic accidents on icy roads.
An outbreak of severe cold occurred December 22 -25, 1989, killing five people in Alabama.
BOTTOM LINE: Be sure and check on any elderly people you know that might live alone and be sure they can stay warm for the next 10 to 15 days, and if you use space heaters, simply understand they bring a high risk of fires that can be so tragic this time of the year. And, of course, the pets don’t like this cold weather any more than we do. If your dog’s water bowl is outside, more than likely it will be all ice for a long time.
