Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, July 25, 2004

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, July 25, 2004
Start: 2004-07-25T15:25
End: 2004-07-25T15:45
Location: Alabama

July 25, 2004 · NWS BMX · 2 events in 1 county or zone

A severe thunderstorm developed right over the City of Haleyville. One building was destroyed at the intersection of Alabama Avenue and 21st Street in downtown Haleyville.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $152,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS BMX wrote it up.

A severe thunderstorm developed right over the City of Haleyville. One building was destroyed at the intersection of Alabama Avenue and 21st Street in downtown Haleyville. Numerous trees and powerlines were also reported down in the area. One barn had its roof torn off. Hail up to the size of ping-pong balls also fell during the storm.

What forecasters said that day

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 Jul 25, 2:26 PM CST, 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 25, 2:26 PM CST, 59 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
326 PM CDT SUN JUL 25 2004

.DISCUSSION...

NO BIG CHANGES TO THE REASONING PRESENTED IN PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS...
SO FORECAST WILL NOT CHANGE A WHOLE LOT.  ONGOING CONVECTION THIS
AFTERNOON WILL PLAY A BIG PART IN POPS TONIGHT.  OTHERWISE...
ONGOING FORECAST OF LIKELY POPS TOMORROW LOOKS GOOD...WITH POPS
DECREASING FROM THE WEST ON TUESDAY.

MAIN CHANGE TO THE EXTENDED PORTION IS TO TWEAK TEMPS BACK UP IN THE
SOUTH FOR THE END OF THE WEEK AND INTO NEXT WEEKEND.  TEMPS HAVE
AVERAGED 3-5 DEGREES WARMER IN MGM COMPARED TO BHM RECENTLY.  SO
EITHER THE MEX NUMBERS (WHICH ARE DIFFERENT BY ABOUT ONE DEGREE
EACH PERIOD) ARE TOO HIGH FOR BHM...OR TOO LOW FOR MGM. I THINK IT
IS THE LATTER RATHER THAN THE FORMER.

&&

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...

GADSDEN    72 87 69 87 69 / ?? 60 30 30
ANNISTON   73 87 70 87 70 / ?? 60 30 30
BIRMINGHAM 73 87 69 88 69 / ?? 60 30 20
TUSCALOOSA 73 89 69 89 69 / ?? 60 30 20
CALERA     73 88 70 89 70 / ?? 60 30 30
AUBURN     74 89 72 89 71 / ?? 60 30 40
MONTGOMERY 74 90 73 90 71 / ?? 60 30 30
TROY       73 90 73 90 71 / ?? 60 30 40
&&

.BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
&&

61

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 25, 12:13 PM CST, 3 hours 12 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
113 PM CDT SUN JUL 25 2004

ALZ011>015-017>050-252359-
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-
113 PM CDT SUN JUL 25 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM.

.DAY ONE...(THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT)

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA.
THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS
GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSATE 20 AS A VERY MOIST AND
UNSTABLE AIR MASS REMAINS IN PLACE.  A FEW STORMS MAY BE CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING WIND DAMAGE AS WELL AS LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG
WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AS ANY STORM THAT DEVELOPS WILL MOVE VERY
SLOWLY ACROSS THE AREA.

WET MICROBURST POTENTIAL THIS AFTERNOON:
BIRMINGHAM...MODERATE
MONTGOMERY...MODERATE

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...(MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY)

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND STORM SPOTTERS
MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 25, 1:32 PM CST, 1 hour 53 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
232 PM CDT SUN JUL 25 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0229 PM     HAIL             FULTONDALE              33.62N 86.80W
07/25/2004  0.75 INCH        JEFFERSON          AL   AMATEUR RADIO

            ADDITIONAL PENNY SIZED HAIL

&&

Local storm report, Jul 25, 1:35 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
235 PM CDT SUN JUL 25 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0235 PM     HAIL             HOOVER                  33.38N 86.82W
07/25/2004  0.88 INCH        JEFFERSON          AL   AMATEUR RADIO

            NICKEL SIZED HAIL

&&

Local storm report, Jul 25, 1:44 PM CST, 1 hour 41 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
244 PM CDT SUN JUL 25 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0240 PM     HAIL             HOOVER                  33.38N 86.82W
07/25/2004  0.75 INCH        JEFFERSON          AL   AMATEUR RADIO

            PENNY SIZED HAIL IN THE BLUFF PARK AREA OF HOOVER

&&

Local storm report, Jul 25, 1:58 PM CST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
258 PM CDT SUN JUL 25 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0250 PM     HAIL             1 W HOOVER              33.38N 86.84W
07/25/2004  0.75 INCH        JEFFERSON          AL   AMATEUR RADIO

            PENNY SIZED HAIL JUST WEST OF HOOVER

&&

Local storm report, Jul 25, 2:15 PM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
315 PM CDT SUN JUL 25 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0310 PM     TSTM WND GST     INVERNESS               33.40N 86.72W
07/25/2004  60 MPH           SHELBY             AL   PUBLIC

            FORMER NWS EMPLOYEE REPORTED 60 MPH WINDS AND TREES DOWN
            IN THE GREYSTONE AREA OF NORTH SHELBY COUNTY.

&&

Local storm report, Jul 25, 2:23 PM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
323 PM CDT SUN JUL 25 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0321 PM     HAIL             WOODSTOCK               33.21N 87.15W
07/25/2004  0.75 INCH        BIBB               AL   PUBLIC

            PENNY SIZED HAIL

&&

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Winston

When: July 25, 3:25 PM CST to 3:45 PM CST
Where: Winston County, Haleyville
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 34.233, -87.617

Hail, Winston

When: July 25, 3:25 PM CST to 3:45 PM CST
Where: Winston County, Haleyville
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 34.233, -87.617

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alabama in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Alabama, July 2004

Sources

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: 5417162, 5417216.