A powerful late fall storm system, and associated cold frontal passage through Alabama, brought widespread thunderstorms to the state. Some of the storms in Central Alabama produced damaging winds and tornadoes.
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 powerful late fall storm system, and associated cold frontal passage through Alabama, brought widespread thunderstorms to the state. Some of the storms in Central Alabama produced damaging winds and tornadoes.
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 Nov 29, 11:47 PM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1147 PM CST MON NOV 29 2010 .UPDATE...FOR 06Z AVIATION. && .DISCUSSION... CURRENT DIAGNOSIS INDICATES THAT THE WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS LOCATED FROM NEAR GREENWOOD MS TO JUST SOUTH OF GOLDEN TRIANGLE...SOUTH TO NORTHERN SUMTER COUNTY...AND EAST TO SEVERAL MILES SOUTH OF PIKE COUNTY. THE SENTENCE WOULD SUGGEST A VERY COMPLEX SURFACE SITUATION THAT IS NOT EASY TO FOLLOW. JUST AS I HAVE STRUGGLED WITH THE SURFACE ANALYSIS...SO HAVE MOST OF THE NUMERICAL 00Z GUIDANCE RUNS...MOST OF WHICH ARE RUNNING AN HOUR OR MORE BEHIND SCHEDULE WITH THE ACCELERATING DRYLINE/COLD FRONT TO OUR WEST...AND EVEN THE NORTHWARD EXTENT OF THE WARM FRONT. NONETHELESS OVER THE THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS...PERHAPS FROM 9 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT EXPECT TO SEE A RATHER QUIET PERIOD AND A DECELERATION ON THE DRYLINE AS THE MAIN...STRONGER COLD FRONT BEGINS TO TAKE OVER AS THE MAIN SOURCE OF LIFT FOR THE DURATION OF THE EVENT. WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US IS THAT WE CAN EXPECT THE WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY OR WHAT I CONSIDER THE 64F+ DEWPOINT LINE...AND VEERED WINDS TO CONTINUE ON ITS PROGRESSION NORTHWARD...OVER EXTREME WESTERN ALABAMA INITIALLY. THEN...A LITTLE QUICKER AS IT MARCHES EAST TOWARDS I65 BY DAYBREAK AND I85 BY LUNCH. THE FASTER WARM FRONTAL TRANSITION HAS LEFT ME EVEN MORE CONFIDENT THAT THE JUICY SET UP WILL BE FIRMLY IN PLACE BY THE TIME THE BEST FORCING AND UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT ARRIVES. CONTINUE TO FEEL AS IF THE REAL SHOW WILL BEGIN ONCE THE UPPER DYNAMICS COME MORE IN LINE WITH THE DEVELOPING UNSTABLE AIRMASS...WHICH IS STILL A FEW HOURS AWAY. THIS WILL HAPPEN INITIALLY UPSTREAM IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI...TRANSITIONING TOWARDS WESTERN ALABAMA AROUND MIDNIGHT. I STILL MAINTAIN SOME QUESTIONS AS TO THE LEVEL OF INSTABILITY...ESPECIALLY FURTHER NORTH. HOWEVER...KEEP IN MIND THAT ONCE COLD POOLS ARE WELL ESTABLISHED...IT WILL NOT TAKE MUCH IN THE WAY OF INSTABILITY TO KEEP THE THREAT MAINTAINED AS IT MOVES INTO A SEEMINGLY LESS FAVORABLE AIRMASS. ESPECIALLY FOR A QLCS THREAT AS WE ARE EXPECTING ONCE THE COLD FRONT TRANSLATES EASTWARD. THE SHEAR WILL OBVIOUSLY BE IN PLACE...0 TO 1KM...0 TO 3KM...AND 0 TO 6KM ARE ALL EXPECTED TO MAINTAIN THEIR STRENGTH FOR SOME INITIAL SUPERCELLS. HOWEVER...ONCE THE SURFACE WINDS VEER SOUTH OR EVEN SOUTHWEST THE TRANSITION TO QLCS OR A MORE PRONOUNCED SQUALL LINE IS EXPECTED. && .AVIATION...06Z TAF DISCUSSION. IFR/MVFR CEILINGS THROUGH TOMORROW AS DEEP MOISTURE LIFTS NORTHWARD FROM THE GULF AHEAD OF ADVANCING STRONG STORM SYSTEM. SOME INTERMITTENT SHOWERS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS THEN HEAVIER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL ENTER INTO WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND APPROACH TCL. THE COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO REACH WESTERN ALABAMA AROUND 11Z AND PUSH EAST OF MGM/TOI AROUND MID AFTERNOON. SOME 00Z GUIDANCE NOW SHOWS LINGERING HEAVY RAINFALL NEAR TOI THROUGH ROUGHLY 03Z. WINDS WILL SHIFT FROM SOUTHEASTERLY TO SOUTHERLY OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS AT 10 TO 12 KTS WITH SOME GUSTS OF 20 KTS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT. WINDS BECOMING NORTHWEST AT 10 KTS AFTER FROPA. 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. && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && 17/88
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1235 AM CST TUE NOV 30 2010 ALZ011>015-017>050-010245- 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- 1235 PM CST TUE NOV 30 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...INCLUDING A THREAT FOR SIGNIFICANT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT FOR AREAS GENERALLY WEST OF INTERSTATE 59. THE STORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT IN MISSISSIPPI AND MOVE TOWARD CENTRAL ALABAMA. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WEST OF INTERSTATE 65...WITH RAIN AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES EXPECTED AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH. ISOLATED LOCATIONS MAY EXPERIENCE SOME MINOR FLOODING ESPECIALLY IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN POSSIBLE THROUGH 3 PM TUESDAY... GENERALLY EAST OF A LINE FROM DEMOPOLIS TO TUSCALOOSA TO ARLEY. THE POTENTIAL EXIST FOR DAMAGING WINDS...ISOLATED TORNADOES AND POSSIBLY SOME LARGE HAIL. THE THREAT WILL DIMINISH BY AROUND 3 PM AS THE FRONT PUSHES INTO GEORGIA. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE AREAWIDE. RAIN AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE EXPECTED AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH. ISOLATED LOCATIONS MAY EXPERIENCE SOME MINOR FLOODING ESPECIALLY IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WILL BECOME NECESSARY LATE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY.
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:13 UTC.
18 thunderstorm wind, 6 tornado, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several large hardwood trees were blown down, from Double Springs to Arley.
The tornado touched down about 1 mile southwest of the city of Millport, where it uprooted several trees. From there, it moved northeastward and crossed AL-17 about a half mile west of Millport. On both sides of the highway, 50 to 70 trees were either snapped off or uprooted, and a few homes sustained shingle damage. Tree limbs were actually embedded into the roof of one home. In the same general area, a tractor trailer was overturned and a metal roof was blown off a garage building. In addition, Metal roof stripping was blown off a barn roof and was transported 100 yards downstream into the top of a 60 foot tree. The tornado lifted on the north side of Millport, near James Street, where a few more trees were snapped off and a barn was damaged.
Several locations in western Lamar County became covered with water and temporarily impassable, including Old Calvert Road, Easlon Branch Road, and Millie.
The tornado touched down briefly near CR-3, about a half mile south of CR-24. Several large pine trees were snapped off and several large hardwood trees were uprooted. The brick siding of one side of a home was heavily damaged, and a nearby storage shed was destroyed.
Several trees were blown down on Smith Lake Dam Road, blocking the roadway.
Trees and power lines were blown down in the city of York.
Trees were blown down on Lary Lake Road, near Lake Tuscaloosa.
A car was blown off the road by winds estimated around 60 mph, at the Cordova exit on future Interstate 22.
The tornado touched down about a mile south of US-278, just west of the intersection of Black Road and Hidden River Drive. Initial damage consisted of minor roof and gutter damage. From there, the tornado traveled eastward and crossed Black Road, where a metal car port had its roof pulled off. Another home had a portion of its roof removed and a large section of privacy fence was toppled. The tornado then traveled along CR-6 for about a mile, crossing CR-49. The most significant damage was near the intersection of County Roads 49 and 6, where several large hardwood trees were uprooted. The tornado lifted just east of Wilson Road, where a metal building suffered damage.
A tree was blown down across Inland Dam Road.
A trees was blown down onto a mobile home, on Towns Road.
Metal roofing was peeled off a porch awning and adjoining mobile home. Several large trees were snapped.
Several antennas were blown down on a radio station tower in Oneonta.
Trees and power lines were blown down near the intersection of Chelsea Road and Liberty Road.
Trees were blown down near CR-47 and Waxahatchee Road.
One large tree and several power lines were blown down near Cherry Lane, in Glencoe.
Winds blew cars off the road on AL-77, between I-20 and the city of Talladega.
The tornado touched down near the Selma Highway and CR-29, just south of the Autauga County Airport, where a few trees were snapped off. From there it traveled northeastward, causing its most significant damage as it crossed US-82 near Steward Street. Numerous trees were uprooted, several homes sustained minor roof damage and a few metal buildings were damaged. The tornado then crossed US-31 near Prattville Middle School, where an awning was damaged and tossed at least 50 yards. Roof coverings and awnings were also damaged on several homes and businesses along Sheila Blvd. The tornado finally lifted just west of the Elmore County line in the Premiere Place Shopping Center, where a portable, free standing security tower was damaged.
Several trees were blown down on Edgewood Road and on Grandview Road, in Millbrook.
The tornado touched down about 4.5 miles east of Hollins, near the Brownsville Community, just south of Chapman Road on Brownsville Loop Road. Much of the damage path was very minor and consisted of tree limb damage. The most significant damage occurred along CR-7 just north of Partridge Creek Road. Several trees were either uprooted or snapped off in this area. One vehicle suffered moderate damage due to a fallen tree. The tornado lifted just after it crossed CR-7.
Trees were blown down on AL-9, southeast of Jacksonville.
The tornado touched down west of US 231, north of Wetumpka. Some homes suffered shingle damage along River Falls Road. The tornado moved northeastward and as it approached US Highway 231, a roof of a large hay barn collapsed. The tornado then crossed CR-209 near Fortner Road, where several trees were uprooted. The tornado finally lifted near the intersection of Balm Road and Mt Zion Road.
Trees and a power pole were blown down along Bells Mill Road, near Cherokee County High School.
Several trees were blown down near the intersection of US-78 and AL-281, west of Heflin.
A large tree limb was blown down and heavily damaged a vehicle.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Alabama, 2010Warnings in Alabama, November 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: 269893, 269898, 269905, 269906, 269907, 269908, 269909, 269910, 269911, 269912, 269913, 269914, 269915, 269917, 269916, 269918, 269919, 269920, 269921, 269923, 269924, 269925, 269927, 269929, 269928.