Does it snow in Mobile? (Fairhope: rentals, store, metropolitan area)

[Keeper]

Well that link says 'no snow' if I read it right, but it has snowed in Mobile. Maybe not at the airport.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by Keeper

Well that link says 'no snow' if I read it right, but it has snowed in Mobile. Maybe not at the airport.

It says the average annual snowfall at the airport over a 107 year period is 0.4".

[southernnaturelover]

I think 1983 was one of the coldest years on record, it got down to 8 degrees.

[unstoppablemobile]

It snowed Christmas Day 2004. My first white Christmas..in fact everyone in my family said it was theirs too. It had sleeted a good inch up until the late afternoon when it finally changed over. Still cant believe its been 4 years since then!

http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/nebraska/dec25-2004curwx_600x405.jpg (broken link)

december25-2004 (http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/nebraska/december25-2004.html - broken link)

[unstoppablemobile]

Typically the only way we can get snow is a rain shield must be in place with bitter cold overriding it, then it switches from cold rain to sleet, to a mix of everything until it changes over. Most commonly (as in 04'), the cold front comes through and right afterwards, a low pressure system comes out of the gulf and dumps snow on areas. However, the timing is critical, and some gulf coastal areas can go over 10 years until the ingredients come together again.

Look at the same 04 Xmas snow, the Texas coast saw up to 13 INCHES in the same system( http://www.srh.noaa.gov/crp/stories/Christmas2004/satellite.html (broken link)) that dropped snow all along the coast with sleet and snow mixture as far north as Troy. Very seldom (as in every 25 to 35 years) do you get a wrap around snow event (like they get all the time in North AL) where snow wraps around the low pressure that rides down with the front and dumps snow on the backside. Only time in recent history that happened was in March 1993 during the superstorm.

[cetinmobile]

I remember those few flurries of 2004. I got so excited thinking we were going to get snow for the first time in my life that I could remember and it sleeted 2 hours then slight snow flurries fell for 30 minutes at the most. To answer your question it's not a likely occurance down here but it might happen once in a blue moon.

[downtowndoll]

Our experience with the 2004 "snow" was it was only in the air. Did not really accumulate in Midtown or even in Fairhope. I'm sure going further east and west, there was more. A very little accumulation and my kids refused to count it as "snow".

Can't remember if it was 97 or 98, but we had quite a snow- giant snowflakes coming down and school was still in session because I had to cut Christmas shopping short to pick up the kids early from school out in West Mobile. Then we went home and played in it at our then home out in Semmes, by Big Creek Lake off Howell's Ferry Road. It was a lot of snow, about 4-5 inches.

It is amazing the difference in climatology between Semmes and Midtown. A lot of times, the big oak trees protect my plants here in Midtown and I'm sure, being close to the water. I rarely have stuff freeze that did all the time in Semmes.

[drfranklin]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned "Winterstorm/Superstorm" '93 (March) - I seem to recall even Mobile rec'd a couple of inches of snow. I also remember that every county in Alabama was under some sort snow advisory/warning for the first time ever.

I lived in Tuscaloosa at the time and we rec'd well over 6 inches - additionally, first time I experienced "thundersnow" .

[caution]

It snowed in the late 70s. I was just a kid but my grandma made a small snowman in the birdbath. The ground was white. That was down off DI Pkwy near Dog River. I can't remember the year, but we still have the picture (somewhere).

That may have been the year of the "big snow". I remember some places in middle and southern GA got 7-8". Was that 76-77?

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by drfranklin

I'm surprised nobody mentioned "Winterstorm/Superstorm" '93 (March) - I seem to recall even Mobile rec'd a couple of inches of snow. I also remember that every county in Alabama was under some sort snow advisory/warning for the first time ever.

I lived in Tuscaloosa at the time and we rec'd well over 6 inches - additionally, first time I experienced "thundersnow" .

I remember '93. The power was out everywhere here in Atmore and the only restaurant that had power was Church's Chicken. I remember my Mom and I made our way through the snow to get a sausage biscuit (does Church's still sell breakfast?).