Damaging Wind in Alabama, May 20, 2005

Name: Damaging Wind in Alabama, May 20, 2005
Start: 2005-05-20T18:35
End: 2005-05-20T18:35
Location: Alabama

May 20, 2005 · NWS BMX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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: $5,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 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 May 20, 1:58 PM CST, 4 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 20, 1:58 PM CST, 4 hours 37 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
258 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

.SHORT TERM...(THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY)...
NEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS BEING ISSUED...WHICH WILL INCLUDE
MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ALABAMA. IMPRESSIVE LIGHTNING RATES WITH
THE STORMS ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ALABAMA...RATES HAVE EXCEEDED
15 CLOUD-TO-GROUND STRIKES PER MINUTE AT TIMES.  SEVERE REPORTS HAVE
BEEN TRICKLING IN...MOSTLY TREES DOWN...AND MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL.
ALL OF THIS ACTIVITY IS THE RESULT OF SURFACE INSTABILITY AHEAD OF
AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT.  TRACK OF THE UPPER LOW IS SLIGHTLY
FARTHER EAST THAN MODELS WERE SUGGESTING AT THIS TIME
YESTERDAY...BUT ALL IN ALL GUIDANCE FOR THIS EVENT HAS BEEN ON
TRACK.

THIS COMPLEX OF STORMS SHOULD HAVE A STRONG ENOUGH COLD POOL TO
MAINTAIN ITSELF INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...BUT WILL LIKELY EXIT OUR
AREA OF CONCERN BY MIDNIGHT.  850 TROUGH SHOULD BE ORIENTED FROM
AROUND MOBILE, AL TO MACON, GA BY SUNRISE...WITH GENERALLY CLEAR
CONDITIONS TO THE NORTH OF THIS LINE...ENCOMPASSING VIRTUALLY ALL
OF OUR CWA.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY LOOK NICE...BUT TEMPERATURES WILL QUICKLY
REBOUND BACK INTO THE MIDDLE AND UPPER 80S ON SUNDAY.  A FEW 90S ARE
ALSO EXPECTED...MAINLY IN THE URBAN AREAS.  MORE SIGNIFICANT CLOUD
COVER IS EXPECTED TO RETURN LATE SUNDAY.

.LONG TERM...(MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)...
A WEAK FAST MOVING COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA
SUNDAY NIGHT.  MOISTURE WILL BE QUESTIONABLE.  INTRODUCED SOME
CHANCE POPS (UPPER 20S LOW 30S) WITH THIS UPDATE...BUT CONFIDENCE IS
NOT HIGH.

THERMAL RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHWEST WILL KEEP OUR AREA UNDER
NORTHWESTERLY FLOW MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.  NO ORGANIZED
PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED FOR THE UPCOMING WORK WEEK...AT LEAST
THROUGH THURSDAY.  HOWEVER...WEAK IMPULSES IN NORTHWEST FLOW CAN
BE VERY TRICKY...PRODUCING UPSTREAM THUNDERSTORM COMPLEXES THAT
TRACK INTO CENTRAL ALABAMA.

TEMPERATURES BEHIND THE FRONT EARLY MONDAY WILL BE A BIT COOLER THAN
TEMPERATURES BEHIND THE FRONT MOVING ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT.
HIGHS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BREAK THE 85 DEGREE MARK FOR MOST
LOCATIONS MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY PROVIDING TEMPORARY RELIEF FROM
THE SUMMERTIME CONDITIONS WE HAVE EXPERIENCED OF LATE.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
GADSDEN     62  81  57  83 /  10   0   0  10
ANNISTON    62  80  60  83 /  10  10   0  10
BIRMINGHAM  62  81  60  85 /  10   0   0  10
TUSCALOOSA  62  85  62  88 /  10  10   0  10
CALERA      62  83  61  85 /  10  10   0  10
AUBURN      64  82  59  84 /  50  10   0  10
MONTGOMERY  65  85  60  87 /  50  10   0  10
TROY        65  85  60  87 /  50  10   0  10

&&

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

&&

12/12

Hazardous weather outlook, May 20, 4:15 PM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
515 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

ALZ011>015-017>050-211230-
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-
515 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.

A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE SOUTHWARD ACROSS
AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM COLUMBUS GEORGIA TO TUSCALOOSA
TO ROANOKE IN RANDOLPH COUNTY THROUGH 11 PM.  THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE
DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL...ESPECIALLY FOR AREAS WEST OF
INTERSTATE 65. A TORNADO OR TWO EMBEDDED WITHIN THE LINE OF STORMS IS
ALSO POSSIBLE IN AREAS NEAR AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 65.

THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD
FRONT IN A VERY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE.

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

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ON MONDAY.  OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS
WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL
MAY BE NEEDED THROUGH 11 PM.

STEFKOVICH

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 20, 4:57 PM CST, 1 hour 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
557 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

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

0405 PM     TSTM WND DMG     LEEDS                   33.55N 86.56W
05/20/2005                   JEFFERSON          AL   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            POWER LINES DOWNED

0345 PM     TSTM WND GST     3 WNW PHENIX CITY       32.48N 85.06W
05/20/2005  0 MPH            RUSSELL            AL   PUBLIC

            60 MPH ESTIMATED WIND GUST

0401 PM     TSTM WND DMG     INVERNESS               33.40N 86.72W
05/20/2005                   SHELBY             AL   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            TREES DOWN

0520 PM     HAIL             TUSCALOOSA              33.24N 87.54W
05/20/2005  1.00 INCH        TUSCALOOSA         AL   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            QUARTER HAIL REPORTED BY COKER VOLUNTEER FD

&&

JPS

Special weather statement, May 20, 5:02 PM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
602 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

ALZ043>045-047-202330-
ELMORE-LEE-MACON-MONTGOMERY-
602 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IN EFFECT FOR MONTGOMERY...MACON...LEE
AND ELMORE COUNTIES UNTIL 630 PM CDT...

...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...WINDS 35 TO 45 MILES AN HOUR
AND...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ARE POSSIBLE FROM APPROACHING
THUNDERSTORMS...

AT 559 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM 10 MILES NORTH OF SMITHS STATION TO
MILLBROOK...MOVING SOUTH AT 25 MPH.

THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND NEAR
WETUMPKA...OPELIKA...MILLBROOK...LOACHAPOKA...KENT...ECLECTIC...
COOSADA AND NOTASULGA THROUGH 630 PM CDT.

THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE STORMS IS FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING STRIKES. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS IN THE VICINITY OF THESE
STORMS...TAKE SHELTER NOW. IF LIGHTNING IS OBSERVED... WAIT AT LEAST
30 MINUTES AFTER THE LAST LIGHTNING FLASH OR THUNDER BEFORE RESUMING
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES.

Special weather statement, May 20, 5:12 PM CST, 1 hour 23 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
612 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

ALZ041-202345-
AUTAUGA-
612 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IN EFFECT FOR AUTAUGA COUNTY UNTIL 645
PM CDT...

...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS POSSIBLE FROM AN APPROACHING
THUNDERSTORM...

AT 608 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF POSEYS CROSSROADS...MOVING SOUTH AT
25 MPH.

THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND NEAR BILLINGSLEY...POSEYS
CROSSROADS...PRATTVILLE AND AUTAUGAVILLE THROUGH 645 PM CDT.

THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE STORMS IS FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND
LIGHTNING STRIKES. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS IN THE VICINITY OF THESE
STORMS...TAKE SHELTER NOW. IF LIGHTNING IS OBSERVED... WAIT AT LEAST
30 MINUTES AFTER THE LAST LIGHTNING FLASH OR THUNDER BEFORE RESUMING
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES.

Special weather statement, May 20, 5:49 PM CST, 46 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
649 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

ALZ022>023-034>038-043-045-047-210400-
649 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HAVE BEEN CLEARED FROM SEVERE THUMDERSTORM
WATCH NUMBER 302...

BIBB              CHAMBERS          CHILTON           COOSA
ELMORE            LEE               MACON             PICKENS
TALLAPOOSA        TUSCALOOSA

ALZ030>033-039>042-044-046-048>050-210400-
649 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES REMAIN IN SEVERE THUMDERSTORM
WATCH NUMBER 302...

AUTAUGA           BARBOUR           BULLOCK           DALLAS
GREENE            HALE              LOWNDES           MARENGO
MONTGOMERY        PERRY             PIKE              RUSSELL
SUMTER

Special weather statement, May 20, 6:02 PM CST, 33 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
702 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

ALZ040-210045-
DALLAS-
702 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IN EFFECT FOR DALLAS COUNTY UNTIL 745 PM
CDT...

...SMALL HAIL IS POSSIBLE FROM AN APPROACHING THUNDERSTORM...

AT 658 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES WEST OF MARION JUNCTION...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40
MPH.

THIS THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND NEAR MARION JUNCTION AND
ORRVILLE THROUGH 745 PM CDT.

Local storm report, May 20, 6:31 PM CST, 4 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
731 PM CDT FRI MAY 20 2005

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

0613 PM     FLASH FLOOD      NORTHPORT               33.24N 87.59W
05/20/2005                   TUSCALOOSA         AL   PUBLIC

            FLOODING IN THE NORTHPORT AREA OF SOME BACKROADS

&&

JBW

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 137 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:36 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Marengo

When: May 20, 6:35 PM CST
Where: Marengo County, Jefferson
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 32.383, -87.900

Several trees were blown down near Jefferson.

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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alabama in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Alabama, May 2005

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: 5449652.