A storm system moving across the Gulf Coast states brought several days of locally heavy rain and a few strong to severe thunderstorms to 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.
A storm system moving across the Gulf Coast states brought several days of locally heavy rain and a few strong to severe thunderstorms to 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 Oct 11, 11:30 PM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1230 AM CDT MON OCT 12 2009 .AVIATION...FOR MORNING AND 18Z AVIATION DISCUSSION. && .DISCUSSION... MESSY WEATHER PATTERN THIS MORNING...STARTING OFF THE DAY WITH A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT MOVED THROUGH THE EASTERN HALF OF THE AREA...AND PRODUCED WIND GUSTS OF AT LEAST 40 MPH. RAINFALL HAS BEEN HEAVY ACROSS A GOOD PORTION OF THE CWA...WITH MOST EVERYONE SEEING BETWEEN 1-3 INCHES SINCE MIDNIGHT. MORE RAINFALL IS OVER MISSISSIPPI AND IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. THERE IS GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS WITH THIS...GOOD NEWS...IT SHOULD REMAIN RAIN. INSTABILITIES ARE LOW WITH THE CLOUD COVER...850 LLJ HAS WEAKENED AND VEERED TO THE WSW AND AT THE SFC...NORTHERLY WINDS. ALL OF THIS LEADS TO DIMINISHING RAINFALL. THE BAD NEWS...THE RAIN WILL NOT DIMINISH JUST YET. SHOULD CONTINUE TO FALL...WITH THE HEAVIER TOTALS WEST OF INTERSTATE 65 THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. WILL CONTINUE THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA...WHICH IS SET TO EXPIRE AT 4 PM...WITHOUT EXPECTATIONS OF EXTENDED IT. && .AVIATION...18Z TAF DISCUSSION. LIGHT TO MODERATE RA CONTINUES TO FALL ACROSS THE AREA...WITH JUST ABOUT EVERY TAF SITE SEEING AT LEAST -RA. THESE SHOWERS ARE LIKELY TO ONLY LAST INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS...WITH SKIES DRYING UP FROM WEST TO EAST BEGINNING AROUND 21Z IN TCL...BUT CIGS ARE LIKELY TO REMAIN AT LEAST MVFR...WITH MOST EVERYONE SEEING IFR CIGS THROUGHOUT THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. COULD SEE PATCHY FOG ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SITES TONIGHT...MAINLY MGM AND TOI...BUT TCL IS USUALLY SUSPECT TO FOG AFTER RAIN MOVES THROUGH AS WELL. && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && 27
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 723 PM CDT SUN OCT 11 2009 ALZ011>015-017>050-130023- 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- 723 PM CDT SUN OCT 11 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE AFTER 3 AM ACROSS THE NORTHWEST SECTIONS AS LOW PRESSURE APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS AND MINOR FLOODING IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS WILL BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. A WARM FRONT IS EXPECTED TO LIFT NORTHWARD ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ON MONDAY. STRONG TO POSSIBLY SEVERE STORMS COULD DEVELOP ALONG AND SOUTH OF THIS FRONT FROM AROUND 10 AM UNTIL 8 PM. THE MAIN THREATS WITH ANY STORM DEVELOPMENT WILL BE GUSTY WINDS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. HOWEVER...ISOLATED TORNADOES MAY ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM...PLEASE CONTINUE TO MONITOR FOR UPDATED INFORMATION OF THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER PATTERN. IN ADDITION...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE 20 CORRIDOR WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE. A STRONG COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA THURSDAY INTO EARLY FRIDAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS PRODUCT FOR FURTHER UPDATES TO THE TIMING...STRENGTH...AND FORECAST CONFIDENCE OF THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SYSTEM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED ON MONDAY AND AGAIN ON THURSDAY INTO EARLY FRIDAY. KSL
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:58 UTC.
5 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous roads had to be closed due to flash flooding, across the western and central sections of Lamar County.
Several trees and power lines were blown down in the city of Attalla, with one tree falling onto and damaging a house.
Vandergrift Road, near the Midfield Park Shopping Center, became temporarily impassable due to flooding. Several other roads in the area, including B.Y. Williams Drive, also became flooded.
A carport was displaced from a home at the intersection of US-431 and CR-65, in the Rock Stand community.
Several roads around the city of Gadsden had to be closed due to becoming temporarily impassable due to flooding.
Another round of heavy rain caused the closure of several roads, in and around the city of Vernon.
Yet another round of heavy rain caused the closure of at least 7 more roads in Lamar County.
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, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 199967, 199968, 199969, 199970, 199973, 199971, 199972.