Isolated strong thunderstorms developed in the heat of the afternoon.
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.
Isolated strong thunderstorms developed in the heat of the afternoon.
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 31, 2:40 PM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 340 PM CDT THU JUL 31 2008 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT. STRUGGLING TO GET THE PRECIPITATION COVERAGE OVER THE AREA AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON. SURFACE TEMPERATURES ARE HOVERING NEAR 90...OR RIGHT AT THE CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES. NOT A LOT OF OTHER FORCING MECHANISMS TO KEY ON OTHER THAN SOME OUTFLOW DRIVEN STORMS MOVING INTO THE NORTH CENTRAL COUNTIES. ADDITIONALLY...A SHORT WAVE WILL CONTINUE TO APPROACH THE AREA THIS EVENING BUT LACK OF HEATING SHOULD WORK AGAINST ANY WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION. WILL GO WITH CHANCE POPS OVERNIGHT WITH LOWS IN THE 70S. SOME PATCHY MORNING STRATUS SHOULD ALSO DEVELOP. 88 && .LONG TERM...FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. MODELS IN FAIR AGREEMENT THAT THE BEST AREAWIDE CHANCE OF RAIN WILL BE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD. MID TO UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH OVER THE STATE FRIDAY...WITH A SECONDARY WEAKER TROUGH ON SATURDAY. THE BEST LIFT AND MOISTURE WILL BE AVAILABLE FRIDAY...WITH PW VALUES AROUND 2 INCHES....LIS AROUND -4... AND CAPES AROUND 2000. A FEW STRONG STORMS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE MAIN THREAT OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. ADDITIONALLY....DEADLY LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE. THUNDERSTORMS ACTIVITY SHOULD DECREASE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH BY THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS. ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE CONTENT DROPS QUITE A BIT INTO SATURDAY...BUT JUST ENOUGH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE MAY BE IN PLACE TO KICK OFF A STORM ALMOST ANYWHERE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA...WITH THE TRIGGERS BEING THE WEAK BOUNDARY AND DAYTIME HEATING. HEAT INDICES ARE EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 105 DEGREES AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON DUE TO LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND WARMER TEMPS EXPECTED. SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... A FEW TWEAKS IN THE FORECAST REASONING SINCE YESTERDAY. GFS/ECMWF AND THEIR RESPECTIVE ENSEMBLES ARE HAVING A TOUGH TIME RESOLVING THE MID LEVEL LOW DEVELOPMENT SUNDAY/MONDAY NEAR THE MOISTURE POOL IN THE VICINITY OF THE FAR NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO. EVEN IF A CLOSED LOW DEVELOPS...OR SURFACE LOW DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE COAST...MUCH OF THE MOISTURE SHOULD REMAIN SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA...MOVING WESTWARD. WILL KEEP THE MEAGER POPS MENTIONED FOR PARTS OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA THROUGH TUESDAY...GRADUALLY EXPANDING TO AREAWIDE WEDNESDAY AND BEYOND. WITH THIS BROAD LOW PRESSURE LURKING TO THE SOUTH...THE UPPER RIDGE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PENETRATE QUITE AS FAR SOUTH...REMAINING NEAR AND NORTH OF THE AREA. THEREFORE... HIGHS WILL BE FORECAST TO REMAIN IN THE 90S AT THIS TIME. 75/LINHARES && .AVIATION...18Z TAF DISCUSSION. MORNING CLOUDS HAVE BROKEN UP WITH EVERYONE CURRENTLY IN VFR RANGE. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP AND WILL COVER THIS WITH VC WORDING FOR A FEW HOURS THIS AFTERNOON. COVERAGE SHOULD DIMINISH THIS EVENING ALTHOUGH AN ISOLATED SHOWER CANNOT BE RULED OUT. PATCHY AREAS OF STRATUS ARE LIKELY AROUND 10Z IN THE MORNING...LIFTING AND BREAKING UP 15Z. A FEW LATE MORNING SHOWERS MAY ALSO BE POSSIBLE. 88 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 72 91 69 94 70 / 30 30 10 20 10 ANNISTON 73 91 71 95 72 / 40 40 10 20 10 BIRMINGHAM 73 90 73 94 72 / 40 40 10 20 10 TUSCALOOSA 74 91 72 98 73 / 40 50 10 20 10 CALERA 73 90 72 95 73 / 40 50 10 20 10 AUBURN 72 87 72 91 73 / 30 50 20 20 10 MONTGOMERY 74 89 72 96 74 / 30 60 20 20 10 TROY 73 87 71 92 73 / 30 60 20 20 20 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && 88/75/88
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1258 PM CDT THU JUL 31 2008 ALZ011>015-017>050-011758- 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- 1258 PM CDT THU JUL 31 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED AREA WIDE TODAY. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME STRONG THROUGH 8 PM...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS UP TO 35 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AGAIN ON FRIDAY. HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL BE POSSIBLE...ALONG WITH A FEW WIND GUSTS TO 35 MPH. STORMS WILL BE MOST NUMEROUS SOUTH OF A LINE FROM ROANOKE TO CLANTON TO ALICEVILLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:26 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Single trees were blown down at several different locations around the city of Fayette.
A single tree was blown down onto Gossett Street, in the city of Centre.
A large tree was blown down and blocked the intersection of Watermelon Road and Yellow Creek Road, in central Tuscaloosa County.
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: 128131, 128133, 128134.