1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 16, 9:45 AM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 945 AM CST FRI FEB 16 2001 HAVE BECOME A BIT MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY WITH THE SPC UPDGRADE TO MODERATE RISK. SURFACE MESO ANALYSIS SHOWED DEEPENING SURFACE LOW SOMEWHERE NEAR MLU. STATIONARY FRONT EXTENDS FROM THE LOW NORTHEASTWARD INTO NORTHWEST CORNER OF ALABAMA...WHILE COLD FRONT EXTENDS SOUTHWEST OF THE LOW INTO WESTERN GULF. MORNING RAOBS (JAN/BMX) SHOWED MOIST LOW LEVELS...BUT DRY AIR FROM ABOUT 800 OR 750 MB UP...AND TO NO SURPRISE VISIBLE SATALLIE PIX SHOW THIN SPOTS AND HOLES IN THE CLOUD COVER IN THE WARM SECTOR SOUTH OF THE STATIONARY FRONT. ALSO NOTED ON SOUNDINGS A MID-LEVEL THERMAL CAP. SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT NOT ALL THAT STRONG IN ALABAMA RIGHT NOW. BUT AS SURFACE LOW DEEPENS...THAT SHOULD CHANGE...AND WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE AND BECOME MORE SOUTHEASTERLY (AS THEY ARE NOW DOING IN LA AND SW MS). EXPECTED LARGE SCALE LIFT SHOULD HELP TO ERODE CAP...JUST ABOUT THE TIME OF MAX AFTERNOON INSTABILITY. THINK THERES LITTLE QUESTION THAT STORMS ARE LIKELY TODAY. QUESTION IS THE DEGREE OR MODE OF ORGANIZATION. IF SURFACE LOW CONTINUES TO DEEPEN...AND WINDS BACK MORE AND INCREASE IN SPEED...THEN THREAT OF SUPERCELLS WOULD INCREASE. ALL IN ALL...THE CURRENT FORECAST PACKAGE LOOKS GOOD. WILL ISSUE AN UPDATE BY 17Z TO REMOVE MORNING WORDING...AND MAY ALSO EXTEND THE SEVERE WEATHER WORDING FARTHER NORTH. .BHM...NONE.
ALZ001>038-040>050-161800- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 730 AM CST FRI FEB 16 2001 HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA. ...A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER OVER MOST OF NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... A FRONT WAS NEARLY STATIONARY ACROSS EXTREME NORTH ALABAMA THIS MORNING. IT WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...AS A STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM PASSES OVER THE AREA. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE IN NUMBERS AND INTENSITY...AS THIS SYSTEM DEVELOPS DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY BECOME SEVERE...NEAR AND SOUTH OF THE FRONT. THE GREATEST THREAT WILL LIKELY BE FROM WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS...HOWEVER...ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO LIKELY...ESPECIALLY OVER NORTH ALABAMA...WITH A FEW SPOTS POSSIBLY RECEIVING AROUND 2 INCHES. THE RAIN WILL END FROM THE NORTHWEST LATER TONIGHT. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL AND STORM SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS...AND BE READY FOR ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
ALZ001>038-040>050-162145- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1138 AM CST FRI FEB 16 2001 HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA. ...A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER OVER MOST OF NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... A FRONT EXTENDING ACROSS EXTREME NORTHERN ALABAMA...FROM NEAR HAMILTON TO ATHENS...WILL SLOWLY DRIFT TOWARD THE SOUTH. SURFACE LOW PRESSURE WILL RIDE NORTHEAST ALONG THIS FRONT AS AN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM MOVES SOUTHEAST OUT OF THE SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS. AHEAD OF THIS FRONT GUSTY SOUTH WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD MOIST GULF AIR ACROSS THE AREA. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE...IN NUMBER AND INTENSITY... ALONG AND AHEAD OF THIS FRONT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE ALREADY DEVELOPED ACROSS CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI...AND ARE EXPECTED TO BEGIN AFFECTING WESTERN PORTIONS OF ALABAMA AROUND NOONTIME...AND CONTINUE THROUGH 9 PM ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA. THE GREATEST THREAT WILL LIKELY BE FROM WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS...HOWEVER...ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO LIKELY...ESPECIALLY OVER NORTH ALABAMA...WITH A FEW SPOTS POSSIBLY RECEIVING AROUND 2 INCHES. THE RAIN WILL END FROM THE NORTHWEST LATER TONIGHT. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL AND STORM SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS...AND BE READY FOR ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENAING.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous trees and power lines were blown down throughout the county. One tree fell on a college fraternity house causing considerable damage. Many roads were temporarily closed because of downed trees. Several homes received roof damage.
A small tornado described by eye witnesses as a smooth funnel touched down in northwest Huntsville. The damage began near the intersection of Capshaw Road and Wall Triana Highway. The tornado damage path extended nearly due east for some distance before turning east-northeast and ending just west of Rideout Road. A damage survey was conducted of this event by meteorologists from UAH who described the damage path as narrow, focused, and convergent. Additional damage occurred in northeast Huntsville in the Chase area and may possibly have been another weak tornado touchdown. Beginning: 34 46.378/86 45.006 Ending: 34 46.769/86 40.393
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Alabama, 2001Warnings in Alabama, February 2001
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5234091, 5234092.