A weak cold front pushing through the southeast states caused isolated severe thunderstorms across central Alabama, including damaging winds and large hail.
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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.
A weak cold front pushing through the southeast states caused isolated severe thunderstorms across central Alabama, including damaging winds and large hail.
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 27, 2:51 AM CST, 1 hour 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 351 AM CDT WED MAY 27 2009 .DISCUSSION... YET ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TODAY...WHILE ONE IS CURRENTLY EXITING THE AREA. THIS SECOND SHORTWAVE IS CURRENTLY CROSSING LOUISIANA INTO SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI THIS MORNING. AS THIS SECOND WAVE PASSES THROUGH THE AREA...LOOK FOR AN INCREASE IN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LOOKS LIKE THE HIGHEST POPS WILL BE ACROSS THE EAST AS THE RICHER MOISTURE WILL BEGIN TO SLIDE EAST INTO GEORGIA AHEAD OF THE UPPER TROUGH AND COLD FRONT THAT WILL WORK INTO THE REGION ON THURSDAY. ALTHOUGH STILL PLENTY OF MOISTURE TO WORK WITH DURING THE DAY AS DEWPOINTS ARE IN THE UPPER 60S TO NEAR 70 DEGREES THIS MORNING AND WILL REMAIN THERE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. DAYTIME HEATING WILL SURELY HELP TO INCREASE THE CHANCES AS THE SHORTWAVE WORKS THROUGH. WENT LIKELY ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA...BUT EXPECT THE SHOWERS AND STORMS TO BE MORE SCATTERED IN NATURE THIS ACROSS THE WEST...BUT AT LEAST A DESCENT CHANCE AT SEEING SOME RAIN. THURSDAY...AFOREMENTIONED TROUGH AND COLD FRONT WILL SWING THROUGH DURING THE DAY. OVERALL MODELS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT. WILL LIKELY SEE THE RAIN IN TWO WAVES. ROUND ONE WILL BE A PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH THAT WILL LIKELY MOVE INTO WESTERN AREAS TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING AND THEN SLIDE THROUGH DURING THE DAY THURSDAY. ROUND TWO WILL BE THE COLD FRONT ITSELF. LOOK FOR THE MOISTURE TO BE LIMITED ACROSS THE NORTHWEST WITH THE FRONT...BUT WILL LIKELY INCREASE AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA BY THURSDAY NIGHT AROUND MIDNIGHT. SPC HAS PLACED MOST OF CENTRAL ALABAMA IN A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER THURSDAY...SO MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW...INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR SEVERE WEATHER TO BE OCCURRING. FOR FRIDAY...HAVE CONTINUED WITH THE SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...BUT WILL LIMIT TO THE AFTERNOON AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE SLIDES THROUGH. MOISTURE LOOKS TO BE LIMITED AT THIS TIME. SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...HIGH PRESSURE AND DRY WEATHER WILL BE THE NORM FOR THE WEEKEND AND INTO NEXT WEEK. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN SEASONABLE WITH HIGHS IN THE MID UPPER 80S. SUNDAY AND MONDAY LOOK TO BE THE WARMEST WITH SOME LOWER 90S POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE AREA. SLIGHTLY COOLER TUESDAY AS THE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL SLIDE EAST OF THE AREA. && .AVIATION...06Z TAF DISCUSSION. A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS CONTINUE ACROSS NORTHEAST CENTRAL ALABAMA. A CHANCE ONE COULD AFFECT ANB...OTHERWISE NO TERMINALS WILL BE AFFECTED. LOW CLOUDS AND BR ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD ACROSS THE AREA...WITH WIDESPREAD IFR CONDITIONS. BRIEF LIFR CONDITIONS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. CLOUDS WILL LIFT AFTER SUNRISE. ANOTHER ROUND OF SH/TS ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED WEDNESDAY. GIVEN THE UNCERTAINTY IN TIME AND LOCATION...WILL NOT INCLUDE WORDING AT THIS TIME. 14 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 83 66 84 63 82 / 70 40 60 20 20 ANNISTON 81 67 84 65 82 / 70 40 60 20 20 BIRMINGHAM 85 68 84 65 82 / 70 40 60 20 20 TUSCALOOSA 87 68 85 65 83 / 60 50 50 20 20 CALERA 85 68 84 66 82 / 70 30 60 20 20 AUBURN 84 66 85 65 84 / 70 30 60 30 20 MONTGOMERY 86 69 85 67 85 / 70 30 60 20 20 TROY 86 69 85 67 84 / 70 30 60 30 20 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && 16/14
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 735 PM CDT TUE MAY 26 2009 ALZ011>015-017>050-280038- 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- 735 PM CDT TUE MAY 26 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY PRODUCING WIND GUSTS OF 30 TO 40 MPH...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE THREAT OF STRONGER STORMS WILL BE HIGHER ON THURSDAY AS A COOL FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. WHERE STORMS PERSIST...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. KSL
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 134 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:30 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The intersection of CR-20 and AL-39 was washed out due to heavy rainfall.
A tree was blown down and fell onto a power line, in Arley.
Several trees were blown down in Double Springs.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, May 2009
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: 176287, 176285, 176286, 176283, 176284.