Funnel Cloud, Autauga
- When
- March 20, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Autauga County, 5 mi SW of Prattville
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 32.535, -86.643 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud in Alabama, March 20, 2006
1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
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.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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 Mar 20, 2:48 PM CST, 3 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 2:48 PM CST, 3 hours 12 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 248 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006 .SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT - WEDNESDAY NIGHT) NEEDLESS TO SAY...ITS GOING TO RAIN TONIGHT. RADARS ARE COVERED UP FROM NORTH ALABAMA INTO EASTERN LOUISIANA. THIS MASS WILL CONTINUE TO SHIFT EASTWARD OVERNIGHT AND FINALLY EXIT EAST ALABAMA TUESDAY MORNING...AHEAD OF APPROACHING DRY LINE. WITH LOW LEVEL JET ENHANCING OVERNIGHT AND WARM FRONT ACROSS OUR EXTREME SOUTHERN COUNTIES...CANT COMPLETELY RULE OUT SEVERE THREAT FOR AREAS FROM ALICEVILLE TO TUSKEGEE. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE THE ISSUE FOR AREAS NORTH OF THERE AND FLASH FLOOD WATCH COVERS THIS WELL. ONCE DRYLINE PUNCHES THROUGH LATE TONIGHT...IT WILL BE ANOTHER HALF DAY BEFORE THE COLD AIR REALLY MOVES IN. TUESDAY WILL ACTUALLY WARM UP FAIRLY QUICKLY WITH SUNSHINE AND DRY AIR IN PLACE. HIGHS ON TUESDAY WILL RANGE FROM THE UPPER 50S NORTH TO MID 70S SOUTHEAST. BY WEDNESDAY...THE EDGE OF LARGE CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE WILL SINK INTO THE SOUTHEAST WITH SOME OF THE COOLEST TEMPERATURES WEVE HAD IN A WHILE. LOWS WEDNESDAY MORNING APPROACHING FREEZING ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH MID AND UPPER 30S SOUTH. HIGHS RANGING FROM 50 TO 60 ON WEDNESDAY WITH MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES. .LONG TERM...(THURSDAY - MONDAY) ANOTHER SHORT WAVE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST ON THURSDAY. AIRMASS WILL REMAIN VERY DRY...AND EVEN THOUGH GFS SHOWS SOME LIGHT QPF SCATTERED AROUND THE SOUTHEAST...DOUBT ANY MORE THAN A FEW CLOUDS. BEHIND THIS SHORT WAVE, UPPER FLOW BECOMES INCREASING NORTHWEST ALLOWING FOR COOL CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND. MORNING LOWS WILL FLIRT WITH FREEZING WHILE HIGHS WILL BE A GOOD 10+ DEGREES COOLER THAN AVERAGE FOR WHAT WILL BE LATE MARCH. POSSIBLY WARMING UP SUNDAY AND MONDAY AHEAD OF NEXT DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM BUT THERE HAS BEEN SOME LARGE INCONSISTENCIES WITH LONG TERM PATTERN LATELY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 45 63 33 55 / 100 20 0 0 ANNISTON 52 66 34 55 / 100 10 0 0 BIRMINGHAM 50 62 32 53 / 100 10 0 0 TUSCALOOSA 49 64 35 57 / 100 10 0 0 CALERA 50 64 36 57 / 100 10 0 0 AUBURN 53 66 37 57 / 100 10 0 0 MONTGOMERY 54 72 37 60 / 100 10 0 0 TROY 56 76 38 60 / 90 10 0 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. && 88/88
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 20, 2:00 PM CST, 4 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 200 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006 ALZ011>015-017>050-211151- 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- 200 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...INCLUDING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES...NEAR AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM ALICEVILLE TO TUSKEGEE THROUGH MIDNIGHT. THIS AREA INCLUDES THE CITIES OF MONTGOMERY...TROY...SELMA...AND DEMOPOLIS. IN ADDITION TO THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT...AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT MAY LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING AND RIVER FLOODING. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT FOR AREAS MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20. RAINFALL AMOUNT BETWEEN 2 TO 4 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM TUSCALOOSA...TO CALERA...TO ROANOKE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. RIVER FLOODING IS POSSIBLE ACROSS WEST ALABAMA ON TUESDAY AS RIVER RISES WILL RESULT FROM THE MONDAYS HEAVY RAINFALL. ALSO...OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES WILL DROP TO NEAR FREEZING WEDNESDAY MORNING AS MUCH COLDER AIR FILTERS INTO THE AREA. A FREEZE WATCH MAY BE NECESSARY AS THE GROWING SEASON HAS BEGUN. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL WILL BE NECESSARY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. KNS/99
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Mar 20, 1:41 PM CST, 4 hours 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 141 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006 ALZ030-202030- SUMTER- 141 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IN EFFECT FOR SUMTER COUNTY UNTIL 230 PM CST... ...WINDS 35 TO 45 MILES AN HOUR ARE POSSIBLE FROM APPROACHING THUNDERSTORMS... AT 136 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM 13 MILES NORTHWEST OF CUBA TO 11 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CUBA...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT AREAS IN AND NEAR CUBA... YORK...LIVINGSTON...BELLAMY AND EPES THROUGH 230 PM CST. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THESE STORMS IS STRONG GUSTY WINDS. THESE WINDS CAN BREAK OFF SMALL TREE LIMBS...AND BLOW AROUND UNSECURED OBJECTS SUCH AS LAWN FURNITURE AND TRASH CANS.
Special weather statement, Mar 20, 2:15 PM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 215 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006 ALZ011>015-017>050-210400- 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- 215 PM CST MON MAR 20 2006 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE THROUGH THIS EVENING ACROSS SOUTHWEST ALABAMA... THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL EXIST NEAR AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM ALICEVILLE TO TUSKEGEE. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS...BUT A STRONG ISOLATED TORNADO WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE IN THIS AREA. A SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WAS LOCATED IN SOUTHEAST TEXAS...WITH A WARM FRONT EXTENDING EASTWARD TO NEAR EVERGREEN ALABAMA. THE LOW WILL MOVE EAST NORTHEAST THROUGH THIS EVENING...WITH THE WARM FRONT EDGING ITS WAY NORTHWARD. SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT...THE AIRMASS HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE AND MOISTURE WAS PLENTIFUL. STRONGER STORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE INTO SUMTER AND MARENGO BETWEEN 2 AND 4 PM...WITH THE THREAT EXPANDING TO NEAR MONTGOMERY BETWEEN 4 AND 6 PM. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BEGIN TO LOSE SOME OF THEIR INTENSITY BETWEEN 8 AND 9 PM...AND GENERALLY DROP BELOW SEVERE LIMITS. THE RAIN WILL END FROM WEST TO EAST BEGINNING BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND 2 AM ALONG THE ALABAMA-MISSISSIPPI STATE-LINE...AND ENDING IN SOUTHEAST ALABAMA BETWEEN 3 AND 5 AM. INTERESTS ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA SHOULD REMAIN AWARE OF THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS THROUGH THIS EVENING...AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF A WATCH OR WARNING IS ISSUED. 75/LINHARES
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:00 UTC.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Texas, March 20, 2006
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 20 to 21, 2006
- Tornado in Mississippi, March 20, 2006
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, March 20 to 21, 2006
- Tornado in Mississippi, March 20, 2006
- Flash Flood in Mississippi, March 20, 2006
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, March 20, 2006
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, March 20, 2006
- Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, March 20, 2006
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Georgia, March 20 to 21, 2006
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, March 20, 2006
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, March 20, 2006
More
Every storm in Alabama in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, March 2006
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: 5497898.