Strong surface heating of a very moist boundary layer supported strong instability during the afternoon hours. Lift was enhanced in the higher elevations of northeast Alabama, while farther west, outflow boundaries moving into Northwest Alabama helped to focus lift.
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.
Strong surface heating of a very moist boundary layer supported strong instability during the afternoon hours. Lift was enhanced in the higher elevations of northeast Alabama, while farther west, outflow boundaries moving into Northwest Alabama helped to focus lift.
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 Aug 5, 11:30 AM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1230 PM CDT THU AUG 5 2010 .UPDATE...18Z AVIATION DISCUSSION. && .DISCUSSION... VERY SUBTLE CHANGES IN THE AIR MASS THIS MORNING. SURFACE TEMPERATURES AND DEW POINTS ARE RUNNING A FEW DEGREES COOLER THIS MORNING THAN YESTERDAY. BASED ON HIGHS YESTERDAY AND SLIGHTLY LOWER 1000-850MB THICKNESS VALUES...LOWERED HIGHS A DEGREE MOST AREAS. HIGHEST HEAT INDICES THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE ACROSS NW ALABAMA WHERE AN AXIS OF HIGHER DEW POINTS IS ADVECTING NORTHWARD AHEAD OF AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY. CENTRAL ALABAMA CONTINUES TO BE ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF A SHRINKING UPPER RIDGE. AN UPPER LEVEL TROF IS PUSHING DOWN FROM THE OHIO VALLEY REGION AND CAUSING THE UPPER RIDGE TO WEAKEN AND PUSH WESTWARD. A WEAK COLD FRONT WAS APPROACHING NW TENNESSEE WITH SEVERAL OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES OR PRESSURE TROFS PUSHING OUT WELL AHEAD OF THE SURFACE FRONT. THE MAIN BOUNDARY WAS NEAR MEMPHIS TENNESSEE. THIS FEATURE WILL LIKELY BRING SOME THUNDERSTORMS TO NW ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON AND RAISED POPS ACROSS NORTHWEST COUNTIES. OTHER HOT SPOT WILL BE THE I-85 CORRIDOR AND SOUTHWARD WHERE HIGHER LOW LEVEL MOISTURE EXISTS AND CLOSER TO PERIPHERY OF UPPER RIDGE. 58/ROSE && .AVIATION...18Z TAF DISCUSSION. SCATTERED STORMS ARE ALREADY DEVELOPING ACROSS TN AND NORTH MS IN ASSOCIATION WITH A FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT IS SLOWLY SAGGING SOUTHWARD. ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT WILL CONTINUE WELL OUT AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY...BUT AT THIS TIME IT IS DIFFICULT TO SAY WHETHER THE ACTIVITY WILL BE OF A SINGULAR NATURE OR EVENTUALLY TRANSITION INTO A LINEAR FEATURE. THEREFORE...HAVE DECIDED TO CONTINUE WITH VCTS WORDING AT ALL TERMINALS FOR THE AFTN/EVNG AS CONFIDENCE IS RATHER LOW IN THE EXACT TIMING OF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. STORMS COULD LINGER LONGER INTO THE LATE EVENING THAN THEY HAVE ON PREVIOUS DAYS. OVERNIGHT FOG DEVELOPMENT WILL BE HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON ANY RAINFALL THAT IS RECEIVED TODAY. WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE LIGHT AND FROM THE SOUTH-SOUTHWEST. NOTICE...KEET TAF WILL HAVE (AMD LTD TO VIS WIND AND WX) AMENDED TO THE END OF THE FORECAST THROUGH THE END OF 2010. THE CEILOMETER DATA WILL BE GOING THROUGH NUMEROUS TESTS AND MONITORED FOR ACCURACY. 19 && .CLIMATE... WITH ONE MORE DAY OF TEMPERATURES POTENTIALLY CLOSE TO RECORD HIGHS...HERE ARE THE RECORD HIGHS AT OUR CLIMATE SITES FOR AUGUST 5... LOCATION RECORD TEMPERATURE/YEAR(S) RECORDED -------- ----------------------------------- BHM 102 - 1947 ANB 101 - 1947 TCL 100 - 1951/1991 MGM 103 - 1947 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA. HEAT ADVISORY FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 PM CDT FRIDAY FOR ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 104 PM CDT THU AUG 5 2010 ALZ011>015-017>050-061805- 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- 104 PM CDT THU AUG 5 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA THROUGH 7 PM CDT. AFTERNOON HIGHS WILL ONCE AGAIN BE IN THE UPPER 90S TO LOWER 100S...WITH HEAT INDICES OF 108 TO 115 DEGREES. STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA THROUGH 9 PM THIS EVENING AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY SLIDES SOUTHWARD TOWARD THE AREA. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL. A FEW STORMS COULD REACH SEVERE LIMITS ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA IN CLOSER PROXIMITY TO THE BOUNDARY...WITH DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE MAIN THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE A COUPLE OF DEGREES COOLER ON FRIDAY...BUT STILL HOT...SO A HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR FRIDAY. HEAT INDICES WILL BE IN THE 105 TO 110 DEGREE RANGE IN MANY LOCATIONS. A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...ACROSS ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA...AS A FRONT PUSHES THROUGH. DAMAGING WINDS...HEAVY DOWNPOURS...AND LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS. STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON AS WELL AS THE FRONT WORKS OUT OF THE AREA. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND FRIDAY EVENING.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 151 PM CDT THU AUG 5 2010 ALZ011-051930- MARION AL- 151 PM CDT THU AUG 5 2010 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN MARION COUNTY UNTIL 230 PM CDT... AT 149 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR HACKLEBURG...OR 11 MILES NORTHEAST OF HAMILTON... MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 5 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... BRINN... LAKE BUTTAHATCHEE... TESSNER... BEAR CREEK... PEARCES MILL... IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...TAKE SHELTER IN A STURDY BUILDING. 75
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 62 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:51 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A barn was destroyed and two chicken houses damaged on Fincher Road. Several trees were toppled along County Road 345 with numerous power outages.
One tree knocked down along county Road 15.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, August 2010
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: 254488, 254491.