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 Sep 10, 12:21 PM CST, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 121 PM CDT TUE SEP 10 2002 TOUGH TEMPERATURE FORECAST THIS PACKAGE. MODELS SHOW COLD FRONT PUSHING INTO NORTHERN ALABAMA TOMORROW MORNING...THEN MOVING THROUGH THE STATE DURING THE DAY. EXACT TIMING COULD AFFECT AFTERNOON HIGHS SIGNIFICANTLY. WILL FOLLOW PERSISTENCE FOR LOWS TONIGHT. MODEL THICKNESS VALUES ACTUALLY SHOWING TEMPERATURES MAY BE WARMER THAN TODAY OVER SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA. WITH READINGS THIS AFTERNOON ALREADY IN THE MID 90S...EXPECT A FEW AREAS COULD GET REAL CLOSE TO HUNDRED TOMORROW AFTERNOON. THIS WILL PROBABLY BREAK A FEW RECORDS. WILL WORD MY SOUTHERN ZONES AS 95 TO 100. FRONT EXPECTED TO PASS THROUGH SOUTHERN ALABAMA AFTER THE TIME OF MAX HEATING. CENTRAL ZONES SHOULD HAVE FRONT PASSING AROUND THE TIME OF MAX HEATING. EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO REACH TODAYS VALUES OVER MOST AREAS. TRICKY PART IS OVER NORTHERN SECTIONS WHERE FRONTAL PASSAGE SHOULD OCCUR BEFORE THE TIME OF MAX HEATING...THUS MAKING TOMORROWS HIGHS ACTUALLY LOWER THAN TODAYS. WILL PROBABLY GO 85 TO 90 OVER EXTREME NORTHERN TENNESSEE VALLEY ZONES...WITH NEAR 90 WORDED SOUTHERN TENNESSEE VALLEY. COOLER AND MORE REFRESHING TEMPERATURES ON TAP THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. NO POPS EXPECTED AS THE FRONT SHOULD PUSH THROUGH DRY. PRELIMS FOLLOW: HSV 064/091 061/084 060 0000 BHM 067/096 067/085 065 0000 MGM 068/099 068/089 066 0000 .BHM...NONE. 73
ALZ001>050-102000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 100 PM CDT TUE SEP 10 2002 HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL WILL NOT BE NECESSARY.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
The high temperature observed at the Muscle Shoals Municipal Airport was 97 degrees. This temperature established a new record high.
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, September 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: 5315747.