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 Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 4:50 AM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 550 AM CDT SAT JUL 31 2004 .UPDATE... THE ZONE FORECASTS FOR THE THREE COUNTIES OF NORTHWEST AL WERE UPDATED TO INCREASE THE RAIN CHANCE TO 80 PERCENT. A SMALL MCS MOVING SLOWLY EAST OVER THAT AREA WILL BRING RAIN TO MOST LOCATIONS...WITH LOCALLY HEAVY A THREAT AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED. && .PREV DISCUSSION... AS THE UPPER TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL CONUS CONTINUES EAST... A SURFACE COLD FRONT CURRENTLY FROM SOUTHEAST MO INTO CENTRAL AR WILL DRAG ACROSS NORTHERN AL AND PARTS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TN TONIGHT. THE MAIN BAND OF PRECIPITATION IS ACTUALLY WELL AHEAD OF THE FRONT...CURRENTLY FROM CENTRAL TN INTO NORTHEAST MS. A CLUSTER OF HEAVY RAIN PRODUCING CELLS HAS ANCHORED OVER NORTHEAST MS...IN A SURFACE CONVERGENCE ZONE OVERLAID BY AN AXIS OF DIVERGENT FLOW AT 300 MB. THE PRECIP BAND WILL MOVE SLOWLY EAST THROUGH TODAY. MODELS INDICATE THAT THE UPPER DIFLUENCE WILL CONTINUE EAST ACROSS OUR AREA...AND THE PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES ARE AROUND 2 INCHES. THUS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE AS ALREADY INDICATED THE ZONE FORECASTS. FOR TIMING OF THE RAIN AND FRONTAL PASSAGE...THE GFS WAS USED WHICH GAVE A COMPROMISE BETWEEN THE SLOWER NGM AND FASTER ETA. THE GFS TIMING SUGGEST THAT RAIN WILL TAPER OFF THIS EVENING FROM WEST TO EAST...BUT LINGER OVER NORTHEAST AL AND THE CULLMAN AREA INTO SUNDAY AS THE FRONT SLOWS DOWN. CLOUDS WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH THROUGH THE DAY SUNDAY. BY MONDAY...THE UPPER FLOW ON THE NORTHEAST PERIPHERY OF A CLOSED HIGH OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST BECOMES DIFLUENT. THIS SUGGESTS THE POSSIBILITY OF UPSTREAM DEVELOPMENT OVER THE MIDWEST. THEREFORE... THE CHANCE POPS FOR MONDAY AFTERNOON WILL BE KEPT. THE SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY ALSO SEEMS REASONABLE GIVEN THE PERSISTENT UPSTREAM PATTERN. THE AREA REMAINS UNDER NORTHWEST FLOW THROUGH FRIDAY AS THE WESTERN RIDGE AMPLIFIES...AND TROUGHING EXTENDS SOUTHWARD OVER THE EAST COAST STATES. FOR NOW...WE WILL STICK WITH NO POPS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... HUNTSVILLE 87 72 89 70 / 60 30 20 10 SHOALS 86 71 90 70 / 60 20 20 10 CULLMAN 88 73 89 71 / 60 30 30 10 FAYETTEVILLE 86 71 89 70 / 60 30 20 10 FT PAYNE 87 72 87 70 / 60 40 30 10 && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && SCHAUB
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 500 AM CDT SAT JUL 31 2004 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-311800- COLBERT-CULLMAN-DE KALB-FRANKLIN AL-FRANKLIN TN-JACKSON-LAUDERDALE- LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-LINCOLN-MADISON-MARSHALL-MOORE-MORGAN- 500 AM CDT SAT JUL 31 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PARTS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...(TODAY AND TONIGHT)... A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE WEST TODAY ACCOMPANIED BY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. BECAUSE THE FRONT WILL BE SLOW MOVING...THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE ACROSS THE SAME AREAS AT TIMES. THIS WILL LEAD TO LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY...WITH ISOLATED FLOODING PROBLEMS POSSIBLE. THE MOST LIKELY TIMEFRAME FOR HEAVY RAIN WILL BE THROUGH LATE MORNING ACROSS NORTHWEST ALABAMA...EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON ACROSS CENTRAL PORTIONS OF THE AREA...AND LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING ACROSS THE EAST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...(SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY)... THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. RAIN CHANCES WILL DIMINISH ON SUNDAY AS THE SYSTEM MOVES EAST OF THE AREA. SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE OFF AND ON THROUGH MONDAY...BEFORE A RETURN TO MORE TYPICAL ISOLATED AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS BY THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE PERIOD. PB
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 430 AM CDT SAT JUL 31 2004 ALZ001-002-311100- COLBERT-LAUDERDALE- 430 AM CDT SAT JUL 31 2004 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS WESTERN LAUDERDALE AND COLBERT COUNTIES... A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL GRADUALLY DRIFT INTO NORTHWEST ALABAMA EARLY THIS MORNING. THESE STORMS WILL MOVE TO THE NORTHEAST AND AFFECT EXTREME WESTERN LAUDERDALE AND COLBERT COUNTIES THROUGH 6 AM. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF TWO TO THREE INCHES PER HOUR WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. TOTAL RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF 3 INCHES WILL BE LIKELY...ESPECIALLY NORTH OF HIGHWAY 72 AND WEST OF THE NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY. THIS INCLUDES THE COMMUNITIES OF WRIGHT...WATERLOO AND RIVERTON. IN ADDITION...DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS. THERE WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. DRIVERS SHOULD USE EXTREME CAUTION AND BE ALERT FOR PONDING OF WATER. HYDROPLANING IS A SIGNIFICANT CONCERN...AND IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO SEE STANDING WATER ON ROADWAYS AT NIGHT. STAY TUNED FOR ADDITIONAL UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS REGARDING THIS HEAVY RAIN SITUATION. PB
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:57 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash flooding was occurring with several inches of water over White Pike road.
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, July 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: 5411949.