Alabama, 2001

Lightning Strike in Alabama, September 23, 2001

September 23, 2001 · NWS MOB · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
1
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What forecasters said that day

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 Sep 23, 1:45 PM CST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 23, 1:45 PM CST, 2 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
245 PM CDT SUN SEP 23 2001

SATELLITE DATA THIS AFTERNOON SHOWS CLOUD TOP COOLING AND
INCREASING CONVECTION OVER THE WESTERN GULF...EXTENDING UP INTO
EASTERN TEXAS AND LOUISIANA.  THIS MOISTURE IS INCREASING RAPIDLY
AHEAD OF A STRONG SURFACE COLD FRONT SLICING THROUGH THE MID
MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY THROUGH CENTRAL ARKANSAS INTO NORTHERN
TEXAS AS OF 23/18Z.  DEEP LAYER MOISTURE SPREADS EAST NEXT 24
HOURS WITH FRONTAL FORCING AIDING IN EXPANDING COVERAGES OF
PRECIPITATION TONIGHT AND MONDAY.

FRONT SWEEPS ACROSS ON MONDAY.  HOWEVER...MAY HAVE TO ACOUNT FOR
RESIDUAL MOSITURE MAINLY IN THE FORM OF CLOUDS AND SPRINKLES
FOLLOWING FRONTAL ACTIVITY AS COOLER DOME OF HIGH PRESSURE SURGING
SOUTHWARD ACTS TO CAUSE A DYNAMIC LIFTING OF THE LOCAL AIRMASS.
CLEARING OVER THE ENTIRE REGION LOOKS TO COMMENCE FOLLOWING THE
PASSAGE OF THE H85 FRONT MONDAY NIGHT.  FOLLOWING THE FRONT...WE
ARE IN STORE FOR SEVERAL DRY AND NICE DAYS ALONG WITH COOLER
NIGHTS...WELL BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS. OVERNIGHT MINS WILL ACCOUNT FOR
BOUNDARY LAYER MIXING PERIOD 3.

MARINE...WINDS AND SEAS COMING UP IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE
WITH SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CRITERIA LIKELY BEGINNING MONDAY NIGHT DUE
TO DRAINAGE EFFECTS.  AVIATION SHOWS MODERATE TO STRONG
OFFSHORE GRADIENT CONTINUING THROUGH MID WEEK BETWEEN BUILDING HIGH
PRESSURE AND LOWER PRESSURES OVER THE GULF.

FIRE...NO CONCERNS IN THE SHORT TERM AS RH AND DISPERSION
REMAIN ABOVE CRTICAL THRESHOLDS.  COULD BE A DIFFERENT STORY BEYOND
THE SHORT TERM AS AIRMASS DRIES AND LOW LEVEL TRANSPORT FLOW
INCREASES IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. /10

MOB TU 067/079 059/078 052 1046-
PNS TU 070/082 061/079 057 1046-
DTS TU 072/082 061/079 061 10462
GZH TU 067/078 054/077 048 10561
61A EU 066/076 053/076 045 10540
2R0 EU 066/076 053/076 046 10540

.MOB...
AL...NONE.
FL...NONE.
MS...NONE.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Mobile

When
September 23, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Mobile County, Mobile
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
30.685, -88.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 14 year old male was struck by lighting when he took refuge from a thunderstorm under a large tree. The lighting strike knocked the boy to the ground and rendered him unconscious for a short time. When the boy became conscious again, he complained of numbness along his left side. The numbness was only temporary, and after being briefly taken to a hospital for treatment, the boy made a full recovery.

What these are

Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alabama in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, September 2001

Sources

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: 5268339.