Hundreds of trees and power lines were snapped off or blown down during Ivan. At least 3300 homes sustained varying degrees of wind damage.
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 episode as NWS BMX wrote it up.
Hundreds of trees and power lines were snapped off or blown down during Ivan. At least 3300 homes sustained varying degrees of wind damage. Power was not fully restored for at least a week. Maximum wind gusts were estimated around 75 miles an hour. Three women in Montgomery were killed due to carbon monoxide poisoning after Ivan. The women had a generator running in their home because the power was out of service.
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 15, 8:18 PM CST, 7 hours 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 918 PM CDT WED SEP 15 2004 .UPDATE... INFO FROM TPC CONFERENCE CALL INDICATES A SLIGHT EASTWARD SHIFT ON FORECAST TRACK ON NEXT UPDATE...SLIGHTLY SLOWER FORWARD MOVEMENT... AND STATUS QUO ON INTENSITY (CURRENT AND FORECAST). WILL MAKE NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS TO WINDS WHEN TPC WIND GRIDS ARE SENT...AND HOPE TO HAVE UPDATES OUT BY 10 PM. NO OTHER BIG CHANGES PLANNED. && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH AND HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT FOR SOUTHERN AREAS. FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT AND HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT FOR NORTHERN AREAS. && 61
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 135 PM CDT WED SEP 15 2004 ALZ011>015-017>050-161835- AUTAUGA-BARBOUR-BIBB-BLOUNT-BULLOCK-CALHOUN-CHAMBERS-CHEROKEE- CHILTON-CLAY-CLEBURNE-COOSA-DALLAS-ELMORE-ETOWAH-FAYETTE-GREENE-HALE- JEFFERSON-LAMAR-LEE-LOWNDES-MACON-MARENGO-MARION-MONTGOMERY-PERRY- PICKENS-PIKE-RANDOLPH-RUSSELL-SHELBY-ST CLAIR-SUMTER-TALLADEGA- TALLAPOOSA-TUSCALOOSA-WALKER-WINSTON- 135 PM CDT WED SEP 15 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...(THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT) HIGH WINDS...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH ISOLATED TORNADOES...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ARE POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT AREAS SOUTH OF A GEIGER TO GREENSBORO TO PRATTVILLE TO PHENIX CITY LINE. AS HURRICANE IVAN MAKES LANDFALL NEAR THE ALABAMA GULF COAST LATE TONIGHT...PARTS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS LARGE TROPICAL SYSTEM. WINDS 40 TO 60 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 75 MPH ARE POSSIBLE FROM SUMTER TO RUSSELL COUNTIES AND POINTS SOUTHWARD AFTER 3 AM CDT. BESIDES HIGH WINDS...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH ISOLATED TORNADOES AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OF TWO TO FOUR INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THESE AREAS AFTER 3 AM CDT. SEE SPSBHM...NPWBHM...AND FFABHM FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...(THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY) HIGH WINDS...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH ISOLATED TORNADOES...AND FLOODING ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. AT THIS TIME...HURRICANE IVAN IS FORECAST TO TRACK NORTHWARD ACROSS ALABAMA THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. THE STORM IS EXPECTED TO PASS BETWEEN TUSCALOOSA AND BIRMINGHAM BY FRIDAY MORNING...THEN CONTINUE NORTHEASTWARD AND WEAKENING BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. HIGH WINDS OF 40 TO 60 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 75 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE AREA THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY MORNING. ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY ACROSS THE AREA...MAINLY OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE STATE. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY COULD PRODUCE RIVER AND FLASH FLOODING OVER THE AREA. SEE SPSBHM...NPWBHM...AND FFABHM FOR FURTHER DETAILS. BEYOND FRIDAY...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY FOR POSSIBLE WIND DAMAGE AND FLOODING FROM HURRICANE IVAN.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 452 AM CDT THU SEP 16 2004 ALZ011>015-017>050-161530- AUTAUGA-BARBOUR-BIBB-BLOUNT-BULLOCK-CALHOUN-CHAMBERS-CHEROKEE- CHILTON-CLAY-CLEBURNE-COOSA-DALLAS-ELMORE-ETOWAH-FAYETTE-GREENE-HALE- JEFFERSON-LAMAR-LEE-LOWNDES-MACON-MARENGO-MARION-MONTGOMERY-PERRY- PICKENS-PIKE-RANDOLPH-RUSSELL-SHELBY-ST CLAIR-SUMTER-TALLADEGA- TALLAPOOSA-TUSCALOOSA-WALKER-WINSTON- 452 AM CDT THU SEP 16 2004 ...SPECIAL HURRICANE IVAN STATEMENT FOR CENTRAL ALABAMA... ...AREAS AFFECTED... THIS STATEMENT IS FOR ALL COUNTIES IN CENTRAL ALABAMA SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. ...WATCHES/WARNINGS... A HIGH WIND WARNING...IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA. SEE THE LATEST BHMNPWBHM FOR DETAILS. A FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED...FOR THE THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING...FOR ALL CENTRAL ALABAMA COUNTIES. SEE THE LATEST BHMFFABHM FOR DETAILS. ...STORM INFORMATION... AS OF EARLY THURSDAY MORNING...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE IVAN WAS IN CENTRAL BALDWIN COUNTY...ABOUT 160 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MONTGOMERY...AND 225 MILES SOUTH OF BIRMINGHAM. IVAN IS MOVING GENERALLY NORTH AT 12 MPH. IVAN REMAINS A DANGEROUS CATEGORY 2 HURRICANE. ...WIND AND RAINFALL IMPACTS... AT THIS TIME...IVAN HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE 4 TO 8 INCHES OF RAIN GENERALLY ALONG AND TO THE RIGHT OF THE PATH WITH SOME AREAS SEEING HIGHER AMOUNTS. ADDITIONALLY...IVAN WILL PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND NUMEROUS TORNADOES. THE EXACT LOCATIONS OF THESE THREATS AND THE ASSOCIATED INTENSITIES ARE HIGHLY DEPENDANT ON THE PATH OF IVAN. RIGHT NOW IT APPEARS THE CENTER OF IVAN WILL BE PASS WEST OF MONTGOMERY BY NOON...AND OVER BIRMINGHAM AROUND 7 PM TODAY. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED FOR MONTGOMERY...CLANTON... BIRMINGHAM AND TUSCALOOSA WITH GUSTS OF 70 TO 75 MPH...AS IVAN MOVES INTO CENTRAL ALABAMA. ...CALLS TO ACTION... WITH THE COMBINED THREAT OF SUSTAINED HIGH WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN... THERE IS A HIGH LIKELIHOOD OF WIDESPREAD TREE DAMAGE...STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS...AND POWER OUTAGES. BE PREPARED TO ACT QUICKLY IF A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND UPDATES CONCERNING DANGEROUS HURRICANE IVAN. ...NEXT UPDATE... THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 10 AM THURSDAY MORNING.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
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, September 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: 5423278.