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 Aug 4, 2:05 PM CST, 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 305 PM CDT WED AUG 4 2004 .SYNOPSIS...BIG CHANGES ARE AHEAD IN THE TEMPERATURE DEPARTMENT. COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TOMORROW BRINGING IN MUCH COOLER AND DRIER AIR. THIS BEAUTIFUL WEATHER WILL LAST THROUGH THE WEEKEND. && .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY)...COLD FRONT WILL BEGIN TO APPROACH THE FORECAST AREA EARLY THURSDAY. YES...AN ACTUAL COLD FRONT FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. IT LOOKS LIKE CHANCES OF RAIN WILL NOT TO BE HIGH SINCE THE CURRENT AIRMASS IS REALLY DRY. THIS WILL BE MORE OF A COVERAGE FORECAST RATHER THAN CHANCE. BOTH GFS AND ETA HAVE THIS FRONT MOVING ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE BY LATE THURSDAY. STRONG SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN FOLLOW AND WILL SETTLE OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AGAIN...THE BIGGEST CHANGE WILL IN THE TEMPERATURE DEPARTMENT. THE COOLEST NIGHT WILL OCCUR FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY MORNING WERE UPPER 50S COULD BE POSSIBLE. DECIDED TO GO WITH A BLEND OF GFS AND ETA FOR THAT DAY. THEY BOTH POINT OUT TEMPERATURES AROUND 60...WITH A FEW UPPER 50S IN SOME SPOTS. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE MIDDLE 80S THROUGH THE WEEKEND. && .LONG TERM (SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY)...CURRENT EXTENDED FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK. NOT MUCH CHANGE WAS MADE FROM THE PREVIOUS PACKAGE. TEMPERATURES WILL GRADUALLY BEGIN TO INCREASE BACK TO NORMAL AS THE HIGH PRESSURE MOVES EAST INTO THE ATLANTIC. CHANCES OF RAIN WILL RETURN WEDNESDAY AS THE NEXT SYSTEM APPROACHES THE FORECAST AREA. THANKS TO MOB FOR THE COORDINATION TODAY. && .PRELIMINARY NUMBERS... GADSDEN 72 89 63 84 57 / 10 30 10 00 ANNISTON 72 89 64 85 58 / 10 30 10 00 BIRMINGHAM 73 89 63 84 58 / 10 30 10 00 TUSCALOOSA 73 90 64 86 58 / 10 30 10 00 CALERA 73 90 62 85 58 / 10 20 10 00 AUBURN 73 92 67 86 61 / 10 30 10 00 MONTGOMERY 74 96 68 88 60 / 10 30 20 00 TROY 72 93 68 86 60 / 10 30 20 00 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && 10-MONTANEZ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 108 PM CDT WED AUG 4 2004 ALZ011>015-017>050-050007- 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- 108 PM CDT WED AUG 4 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA ON THURSDAY. ALTHOUGH WE ARE EXPECTING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED. ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND STORM SPOTTERS IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
The afternoon high temperature measured at Dannelly Field was 100 degrees. This high temperaturetied the record high for this date. The 100 degree mark was last achieved in 1954.
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: 5416563.