Afternoon heating led to several isolated severe thunderstorms across central and eastern 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.
Afternoon heating led to several isolated severe thunderstorms across central and eastern 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 Jul 11, 2:46 PM CST, 1 hour 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 346 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2008 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. BOUNDARY ACROSS THE AREA HAS WASHED OUT ACROSS THE AREA. SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ONGOING ACROSS THE SOUTH...WILL QUICKLY DISSIPATE THIS EVENING BEFORE DYING OFF BY 10 PM. MUCH LESS COVERAGE ON SATURDAY AS MAIN DEVELOPMENT WILL BE HEAT OF THE DAY CONVECTION. LOOK FOR THE BEST CHANCES TO BE ACROSS THE SOUTH...WHERE A LITTLE MORE MOISTURE EXIST. TEMPERATURES IN THE LOW 90S ON SATURDAY...WITH THE ADDED SUNSHINE ACROSS THE AREA. .LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. OVERALL NOT MUCH OF A CHANGE TO PREVIOUS THINKING WITH THE FORECAST. THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL SLOWLY PUSH A FRONT TOWARD CENTRAL ALABAMA ON SUNDAY. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW THIS BOUNDARY BEING PUSHED INTO SOUTHERN ALABAMA BY MONDAY. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED AHEAD OF THE FRONT AS EARLY AS SUNDAY MORNING IN THE NORTHWEST AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON IN THE SOUTHEAST. WITH PWS NEAR 2 INCHES...LOCALIZED HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG WITH GUSTY WINDS WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS...ESPECIALLY ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON. BIG QUESTION REMAINS...WHERE WILL THIS BOUNDARY STALL OUT AT? THIS TIME OF THE YEAR...WOULD INDICATE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION OR JUST SOUTH. WITH THIS UNCERTAINTY...WILL CONTINUE WITH THE CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE SOUTH TUESDAY THROUGH THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. THE BEST CHANCES...OF COURSE...WOULD BE DURING THE AFTERNOON. NO CHANGES ON TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH HIGHS AROUND 90...AND LOWS IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOW 70S. 16 && .AVIATION...18Z TAF DISCUSSION. TROPICAL AIR MASS IN PLACE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA WILL LEAD TO INCREASE IN SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. INDICATIONS ARE THAT MOST WIDESPREAD DEVELOPMENT WILL BE IN THE SOUTH HALF OF THE STATE TODAY...AND HAVE INCLUDED VCTS AT MGM AND TOI FOR AFTERNOON STORM POTENTIAL. ONCE THINGS DO DEVELOP...AND CONVECTIVE TRENDS CAN BECOME BETTER ESTABLISHED...WILL UPDATE TAFS IN THOSE CITIES TO INCLUDE A TEMPO OR PREDOMINANT TSRA IF/WHEN NEEDED. NORTH OF THERE...MORNING CLOUDINESS KEPT TEMPS DOWN A BIT...WHICH IN TURN HAS KEPT INSTABILITY AND CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL DOWN. HAVE OPTED TO REMOVE MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THOSE AREAS FOR NOW. MODELS INDICATE A NORTHWEST FLOW OF SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR TONIGHT...AND LESS OF A CHANCE OF LOW CLOUDS AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES. /61/ && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 67 93 69 89 70 / 10 30 20 50 30 ANNISTON 69 94 72 89 68 / 10 30 20 50 30 BIRMINGHAM 74 93 73 90 68 / 10 20 20 50 30 TUSCALOOSA 72 94 73 92 70 / 10 20 20 50 30 CALERA 72 93 72 90 69 / 10 20 20 50 30 AUBURN 71 92 72 93 68 / 10 20 20 50 30 MONTGOMERY 74 94 74 93 71 / 20 30 20 50 40 TROY 72 95 72 93 70 / 20 30 20 50 30 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && 16/61
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 124 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2008 ALZ011>015-017>050-121800- 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- 124 PM CDT FRI JUL 11 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA ON SUNDAY...ESPECIALLY BETWEEN THE HOURS OF NOON AND 9 PM. THE STORMS MAY CONTAIN WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
The canopies of a service station and a bank drive-through, on US-80 in Ladonia, were heavily damaged. Several trees and power lines were also blown down in the same area.
A few trees were blown down in Eclectic.
A lightning strike caused a house to catch fire.
Several trees and power lines were blown down on Key Road, north of Autaugaville.
Trees and power lines were blown down at the intersection of CR-165 and US-82, near the Booth Community.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, July 2008
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: 127757, 127758, 127759, 127760, 127761.