Thunderstorms ahead of a passing cold front produced several areas of wind damage across Central Alabama.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Thunderstorms ahead of a passing cold front produced several areas of wind damage across Central Alabama.
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 Jan 5, 12:05 AM CST, 3 hours 3 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1205 AM CST FRI JAN 5 2007 .UPDATE...AVIATION DISCUSSION. && .DISCUSSION... SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA IS INCREASING. OVER THE PAST TWO HOURS...THE AIR HAS BEEN DESTABILIZING SOUTH OF A TUSCALOOSA TO TROY LINE WITH INCREASING SURFACE TEMPERATURES AND DEWPOINTS. AT 10 PM CST...MERIDIAN MISSISSIPPI REPORTED A SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF 69 DEGREES AND DEWPOINT OF 66 DEGREES. LOCAL MESOSCALE MODELS INDICATE THAT LIFTED INDICES HAVE FALLEN TO -2 ACROSS SOUTHWEST ALABAMA AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI. WITH THE APPROACH OF THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND OBSERVED SURFACE PRESSURE FALLS...BELIEVE THE DESTABILIZATION WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT. INSTABILITY WILL NOT BE EXCESSIVE...LIFTED INDICES AROUND -2 AND SURFACE BASED CAPES UP TO 500 J/KG...BUT THE AIR SHOULD BE UNSTABLE ENOUGH TO CAUSE SOME SEVERE WEATHER. STRONG LIFT WITH THE UPPER LOW MOVING DIRECTLY OVERHEAD WILL OVERCOME THE WEAKER INSTABILITY. DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE MAIN HAZARD...THOUGH AN ISOLATED TORNADO OR TWO MAY OCCUR AS WELL. LOCATIONS SOUTH OF A MILLPORT TO TROY LINE APPEAR TO HAVE THE BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS IN THE 2 TO 8 AM CST TIME FRAME WEST OF INTERSTATE 65...AND THE 5 TO 11 AM CST TIME RANGE EAST OF INTERSTATE 65. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THE LINE PUSHED FARTHER NORTH...DEPENDING ON THE STRENGTH OF MOISTURE RETURN AND DESTABILIZATION. MBS/91 && .AVIATION...DISCUSSION FOR 06Z TAFS. RAIN HAS TEMPORARILY DIMINISHED ACROSS MOST OF CENTRAL ALABAMA AND TAFS REFLECT RAIN ARRIVING LATER. A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST ALABAMA AROUND 08Z AND PUSH EASTWARD. THERE COULD BE SOME LOCALLY STRONG WINDS UP TO 40 KNOTS WITH LINE OF STORMS. RAIN SHIELD WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL ALABAMA BEFORE 12Z. BACK EDGE OF RAIN SHOULD ENTER WEST ALABAMA AROUND 14Z AND MOVE INTO EAST ALABAMA BY 19Z. THERE COULD BE SOME RE-DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS TAF SITES KMGM AND KTOI DURING THE AFTERNOON. MVFR CIGS WILL PREVAIL AT ALL TAF SITES THROUGH 18Z...WITH LOCAL IFR CEILINGS IN HEAVIER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. 58/ROSE && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. && 91/58
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 208 AM CST FRI JAN 5 2007 ALZ011>015-017>050-060900- 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- 208 AM CST FRI JAN 5 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA THROUGH NOON AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. THE PRIMARY HAZARDS WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. THE BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF A TUSCALOOSA...TO ALEX CITY...TO AUBURN LINE WHERE INSTABILITY IS GREATEST. HOWEVER...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA AS THIS STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM MOVES EAST. THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS WEST ALABAMA THROUGH 400 AM...INTERSTATE 65 BETWEEN 400 AND 700 AM...AND EAST ALABAMA BETWEEN 700 AND 1000 AM. GUSTY WINDS UP TO 30 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY AS THE ABOVE MENTIONED SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. A LAKE WIND ADVISORY WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA ON SUNDAY. THE AIRMASS WILL BE UNSTABLE ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE DAY SUNDAY. THE THREAT AREA WILL BE PRIMARILY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL WILL BE REQUIRED TODAY.
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 43 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:06 UTC.
10 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees and power lines were blown down, blocking the roadway on Highway 96.
Thunderstorm winds damaged several structures in southwest Vernon, just west of SR 17 and just south of SR 18. Trees and power lines were blow down, three tin warehouses sustained door and wall damage, and a nearby home sustained shingle damage. The Lamar Lumber and Supply building sustained interior damage due to one of the large bay doors being left open and wind funneling through and causing windows to be blown outward. The damage area was 1/2 mile wide, with winds estimated between 60 and 70 mph.
Several trees were downed on Highway 17, north of Millport.
Wind speed measured on top of Tuscaloosa County Courthouse.
Several trees were blown down across the county, especially near the city of Tuscaloosa.
An unsecured mobile home at a mobile home manufacturing plant was shifted into another, near Highway 43. An old garage in the same area was destroyed when wind got into the building, causing it to collapse. A couple of nearby homes sustained minor shingle damage.
A deteriorating car repair garage was destroyed due to wind getting into the old building and blowing it out.
A 50 knot wind was reported along Interstate 85 in downtown Montgomery.
A mobile home received substantial damage. A sign was blown down, and a roof was damaged, near the intersection of Highways 68 and 411.
A few trees and tree limbs were blown down at County Road 89 and US 80, east of Tuskegee.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, January 2007
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: 8720, 8721, 8725, 8728, 8733, 8734, 8738, 8741, 8731, 8732.