1 cold/wind chill, 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 13, 2:16 AM CST, 1 hour 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 316 AM CDT FRI AUG 13 2004 .SYNOPSIS...DRIER COOLER CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE WEEKEND. TEMPERATURES WILL RETURN TO NORMAL FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE WORK WEEK WITH THE CHANCE OF RAIN RETURNING TOWARD THE END OF WEEK. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY) THE FRONT HAS STALLED SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA AND AT 3 AM SKIES WERE CLEAR. TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE UPPER 50S FOR THE NORTH TO MIDDLE TO UPPER 60S FOR THE SOUTH. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO INFLUENCE THE AREA BRINGING WITH IT COOLER DRIER AIR. THE MAIN FORECAST ISSUE WILL BE OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF NIGHTS. WITH DEW POINTS FORECASTED TO BE IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 50S RECORD LOWS COULD BE SET...BUT DON/T THINK IT WILL BET THAT CUT AND DRY DUE TO THE OVERNIGHT WINDS. MAY BREAK A FEW RECORDS TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. SOME RECORD INFORMATION: (BHM) AUGUST 14 - RECORD LOW 58 SET IN 1967 AUGUST 15 - RECORD LOW 58 SET IN 1963 (ANB) AUGUST 14 - RECORD LOW 58 SET IN 1964 AUGUST 15 - RECORD LOW 58 SET IN 1963 (TCL) AUGUST 14 - RECORD LOW 60 SET IN 2000 AUGUST 15 - RECORD LOW 59 SET IN 1963 (MGM) AUGUST 14 - RECORD LOW 62 SET IN 1964 AUGUST 15 - RECORD LOW 64 SET IN 2000 && .LONG TERM...(MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY) NO CHANGES MADE. ZONAL FLOW WILL BE IN CONTROL WITH THE NEXT SYSTEM APPROACHING THE AREA THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. WILL NOT ADD POPS TO THE FORECAST AT THIS TIME AND WILL ALLOW THE DAY SHIFT TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK. && .PRELIMINARY NUMBERS... GADSDEN 79 54 81 58 85 / 00 00 00 00 ANNISTON 79 56 81 58 85 / 00 00 00 00 BIRMINGHAM 78 57 83 59 85 / 00 00 00 00 TUSCALOOSA 81 55 83 60 87 / 00 00 00 00 CALERA 80 57 83 59 86 / 00 00 00 00 AUBURN 80 57 83 62 87 / 00 00 00 00 MONTGOMERY 82 60 85 61 89 / 00 00 00 00 TROY 81 59 84 61 88 / 05 05 00 00 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && 80
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 122 PM CDT THU AUG 12 2004 ALZ011>015-017>050-131230- MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN-CHEROKEE- CLEBURNE-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-TALLADEGA- CLAY-RANDOLPH-SUMTER-GREENE-HALE-PERRY-BIBB-CHILTON-COOSA-TALLAPOOSA- CHAMBERS-MARENGO-DALLAS-AUTAUGA-LOWNDES-ELMORE-MONTGOMERY-MACON- BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR- 122 PM CDT THU AUG 12 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...(THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT) NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. WET MICROBURST POTENTIAL: BIRMINGHAM...NONE. MONTGOMERY...NONE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...(FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY) AT THIS TIME...THE CURRENT FORECAST FOR HURRICANE CHARLIE KEEPS IT WELL EAST OF CENTRAL ALABAMA...WITH NO DIRECT IMPACT ON OUR WEATHER. NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND STORM SPOTTERS IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
The morning low temperature observed at the Birmingham International Airport was 55 degrees.This temperature established a new record low. The previous record was 56 degrees set back in 1979.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, August 2004
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: 5416566.