1 flash flood, 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 Aug 20, 1:56 PM CST, 4 hours 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 256 PM CDT TUE AUG 20 2002 CONVECTION HAS BEGUN TO DEVELOP ACROSS TENNESSEE VALLEY. SPC HAS ISSUE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH SHORTLY...COVERING ALL BUT EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA COUNTIES. THIS WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM. DEWPOINTS ACROSS FORECAST AREA IN THE MID 70S. INSTABILITY INDICES ARE GREATEST IN THE WATCH AREA...AND EXPECT ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL RAPIDLY INCREASE IN INTENSITY. HAVE ALREADY ISSUED A COUPLE OF WARNINGS. EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO DECREASE AFTER SUNSET. UPPER RIDGE CENTERED OVER EASTERN TENNESSEE BY 24 HOURS...THIS SETS UP MORE OF AN EAST FLOW...ALLOWING DRIER...MORE STABLE AIR TO FILTER INTO THE AREA. WILL CONTINUE ISOLATED POPS NORTH...WITH SCATTERED WORDING ACROSS CENTRAL AREAS. MOISTURE BEGINS TO RETURN ON THURSDAY WITH WEAK SOUTHERLY FLOW. CONVECTION BECOMES MORE DIURNAL AGAIN ON FRIDAY. MODELS INDICATING SLIGHTLY COLER TEMPERATURES ARRIVE AT THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK. HSV 073/094 073/093 072 2223 BHM 073/094 073/092 074 2323 MGM 073/093 073/092 073 2323 .BHM...NONE. 83
ALZ001>018-022>026-030>034-039-210000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA 551 PM CDT TUE AUG 20 2002 THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 623... DEKALB...ETOWAH...JACKSON...MADISON...MARSHALL... THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES REMAIN IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 623 WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM... BIBB...BLOUNT...COLBERT...CULLMAN...FAYETTE... FRANKLIN...GREENE...HALE...JEFFERSON...LAMAR... LAUDERDALE...LAWRENCE...LIMESTONE...MARENGO...MARION... MORGAN...PERRY...PICKENS...SHELBY...ST CLAIR... SUMTER...TUSCALOOSA...WALKER...WINSTON...
ALZ001>018-022>026-030>034-039-210000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA 656 PM CDT TUE AUG 20 2002 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 623 HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... BIBB...BLOUNT...COLBERT...CULLMAN...DEKALB... ETOWAH...FAYETTE...FRANKLIN...GREENE...HALE... JACKSON...JEFFERSON...LAMAR...LAUDERDALE...LAWRENCE... LIMESTONE...MADISON...MARENGO...MARION...MARSHALL... MORGAN...PERRY...PICKENS...SHELBY...ST CLAIR... SUMTER...TUSCALOOSA...WALKER...WINSTON...
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Radar estimated one to three inches of rain in a very short period of time. Many roadways across the city were temporarily impassable due to the high water.
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, August 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: 5312432.