1 heat, 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 Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 20, 11:56 AM CST, 4 hours 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 1256 PM CDT SAT APR 20 2002 STABLE AIR IS THE RULE OVER THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON. LIFTED INDICES ARE ABOVE ZERO IN MOST ALL LOCATIONS. THIS CONTINUES TO PUT A DAMPER ON DAYTIME HEATING INDUCED CONVECTIVE THUNDERSTORMS. THIS STABILITY IS EXPECTED TO LINGER INTO SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS WELL. A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL BRING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA. HOWEVER...THE DYNAMICS WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BE WELL TO OUR NORTH AND SINCE THE FRONT IS EXPECTED IN THE NIGHTTIME HOURS...AND THUS LITTLE HEAT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR CONVECTION ENHANCEMENT. MODELS BRING IN MORE SEASONABLY COOL AIR FOR MONDAY NIGHT WITH TEMPS BACK DOWN IN THE 40S. NORMAL VALUES FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR ARE NEAR IN THE MID 70S AND UPPER 40S...SO IT LOOKS LIKE OUR TEMPS WILL HEAD BACK TO A MORE SEASONAL RANGE. SPEAKING OF TEMPS...SOME LOCATIONS IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ALABAMA ARE GETTING PRECARIOUSLY CLOSE TO THE INFAMOUS 90S DEGREE MARK. SOME SPOTS IN SOUTH-CENTRAL ALABAMA COULD SEE 90 TODAY AND WILL LIKELY SEE 90 DEGREE TEMPERATURES SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THE BREAK IN THE HEAT WILL COME ON MONDAY WITH THE COLD FRONT. PRELIMINARY TEMPS AND POPS... HSV EB 067/086 061/076 043 77024 BHM BE 068/088 062/078 044 77013 MGM BB 068/090 064/083 049 77002 .BHM...NONE. 77
ALZ001>050-202018- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 118 PM CDT SAT APR 20 2002 HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA. HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO CONTROL THE WEATHER OVER ALABAMA THROUGH TONIGHT. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE TENNESSEE VALLEY REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT. ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
The high temperature observed at the Birmingham International Airport was 88 degrees. This temperature tied the previous record last set in 1987.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, April 2002
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: 5292909.