A strong wake low or gravity wave moved across central Alabama during the overnight hours. This feature occurred toward the very tail end of a rain area and continued after the rain had ended in most locations.
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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.
A strong wake low or gravity wave moved across central Alabama during the overnight hours. This feature occurred toward the very tail end of a rain area and continued after the rain had ended in most locations. This feature moved rather slow and allowed the gusty winds to last for a few hours. Gusty winds up to 30 miles an hour accompanied the feature across western Alabama and intensified just after midnight local time. As the feature moved along and south of Interstate 20 and east of Interstate 65, the highest wind gusts were estimated around 50 miles an hour. Several trees and power lines were blown down in each of the counties listed, but most of the counties acrosscentral Alabama experienced wind gusts at least 30 miles an hour. The most significant damage occurred in Talladega, Coosa,and Elmore Counties. Some of the fallen trees landed on homes and caused additional damage. The fallen trees and branches produced power outages in several locations. Here are some peak measured wind gusts in miles an hour and time observed: NWS OBS Birmingham 40 1148 PM CST Calera 35 1149 PM CST Gadsden 32 1235 AM CST Anniston 35 348 AM CST Alexander City 46 320 AM CST Montgomery 47 252 AM CST
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, April 2005
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5448000, 5447998, 5448001, 5448002, 5447999.