1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 12, 9:50 AM CST, 2 hours 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 950 AM CST MON MAR 12 2001 NEW TORNADO WATCH #60 COVERS ALL OF SE MS AND SW AL. BECOMING INCREASINGLY CONCERNED ABOUT FAIRLY HIGH HELICITY VALUES IN REGION OF DEEPLY VEERED BNDRY LAYER WINDS OVER THIS REGION OVER NEXT 3 TO 6 HRS. UPDATED ZONES ALREADY SENT. COASTAL MARINE RUNNING A BIT LATE DUE TO GETTING THE NEW WATCH BOX OUT. MARINE PACKAGE OUT ASAP. /05 .MOB... AL...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY GMZ650-670. FL...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY GMZ655-675. MS...NONE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning either directly hit the roof or ran in on the roof of a home. The strike started a fire and the home was almost completely destroyed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, March 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: 5235930.