Above normal precipitation fell across central Alabama, however only localized relief of drought conditions occurred. Although, extreme drought conditions across Tallapoosa, Chambers, Macon, Lee, and Barbour Counties ended in April, severe drought conditions did continue across those counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
Above normal precipitation fell across central Alabama, however only localized relief of drought conditions occurred. Although, extreme drought conditions across Tallapoosa, Chambers, Macon, Lee, and Barbour Counties ended in April, severe drought conditions did continue across those counties.
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 Mar 31, 10:56 PM CST, 1 hour 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1156 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011 .UPDATE...06Z AVIATION. && .DISCUSSION... THE LATEST WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS AN UPPER TROUGH AXIS APPROACHING THE AREA WITH A RATHER POTENT JET STREAK ROUNDING THE BASE OF THE TROUGH. SATELLITE ESTIMATES THE PRECIP WATER VALUES BETWEEN .6-.7 INCHES. 00Z RAOB SAMPLING WOULD INDICATE A TAD LESS. LOCAL AREA RADARS HAVE QUITE A BIT OF RETURNS THIS EVENING... STREAMING IN OUT OF THE NORTHWEST. UPSTREAM OBSERVATIONS NOT INDICATING A GREAT DEAL OF PRECIP REACHING THE GROUND...BUT A FEW PLACES DID MEASURE. ALL MODELS GENERATE DECENT UPWARD MOTION OVERNIGHT AS THE COLD TROUGH MOVES IN. 500MB TEMPS DROP TO -27C. THE BEST MEAN LAYER MOISTURE WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE NORTHERN AREAS AND WILL KEEP THE HIGHEST POPS THERE. WILL CONTINUE THE IDEA THAT HIGH POPS ARE WARRANTED...BUT THE RAIN AMOUNTS WILL BE LOW. WITH SURFACE DEW POINTS IN THE 30S IN A FEW SPOTS...SOME NORMALLY COLDER PLACES EAST WILL HIT THE UPPER 30S FOR LOWS ESPECIALLY IF THE RAIN HITS THE GROUND. OVERALL FORECAST IN GOOD SHAPE. MADE SOME MODIFICATIONS TO THE TEMP/DEW POINT TRENDS AND INCREASED RAIN CHANCES SOUTH TO AROUND 30 PERCENT. ADDED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF A SHOWER NORTHEAST ON FRIDAY DUE TO THE SPEED MAX AT 500MB REMAINING OVER THE AREA OFF BEST MOISTURE AND SOME UPWARD MOTION THERE. ONCE AGAIN...IF THE RAIN HITS THE GROUND WILL BE VERY LIGHT. UPDATE ON THE WAY. 75/LINHARES && .AVIATION...06Z TAF DISCUSSION. VFR CIGS HAVE PREVAILED THIS EVNG...BUT MODELS CONTINUE TO DROP THEM DOWN TO MVFR ACROSS THE NORTH AFTER 09Z AS A SHORTWAVE TRAVERSES THE AREA. CIGS SHOULD REMAIN VFR AT MGM/TOI. LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS UPPER LEVEL IMPULSE WILL PUSH ENE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT. HAVE ADDED -RA FOR A FEW HRS IN THE NORTH AS OBS ARE ALREADY REPORTING MEASURABLE PRECIP WITH SOME OF THESE SHOWERS. THE RAIN WILL MOVE OUT AND SKIES WILL BEGIN TO CLEAR FRI MRNG AS THE SHORTWAVE PULLS OUT TO THE NE. BREEZY W WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED FRI AFTN WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 KTS AS THE PRESSURE TIGHTENS ACROSS THE AREA. NOTICE...KEET TAF WILL HAVE (AMD LTD TO VIS WIND AND WX) AMENDED TO THE END OF THE FORECAST UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE CEILOMETER DATA WILL BE GOING THROUGH NUMEROUS TESTS AND MONITORED FOR ACCURACY. 19 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED AT 356 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011/. THE SHALLOW CLOUD DECK HAS GRADUALLY MIXED THROUGH THE DAY...JUST AHEAD OF ANOTHER WEAK ENERGY WAVE THE WILL ROTATE SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS TONIGHT. HAVE KEPT AND EVEN UPPED POPS A BIT FROM THE PREVIOUS PACKAGE BASED ON UPSTREAM TRENDS. NOT EXPECTING ANYTHING MORE THAN JUST LIGHT SHOWERS OVER MAINLY THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT. THIS ENERGY WILL QUICKLY EXIT BY TOMORROW MORNING LEAVING SOME LINGERING LOW CLOUDS AND PERHAPS SOME DRIZZLE THROUGH THE MORNING AS WE NEAR LUNCHTIME. WE WILL REALLY BEING TO OFFICIALLY CLEAR OUT BY SATURDAY...PERHAPS LATE SATURDAY AS WE FINALLY GET INTO A PATTERN CHANGE WITH THE EAST COAST TROF FINALLY PULLING FURTHER EAST AS THE FLOW FLATTENS OUT OVER MUCH OF THE EASTERN CONUS. THIS ZONAL FLOW IS REALLY THE PROBLEM MAKER FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AS A MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT TROF DIGS ACROSS THE PLAINS BY EARLY MONDAY. AS THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN BRANCH OF THE TROF BEGIN TO PHASE...OR NOT DEPENDING ON SOME SOLUTIONS...AND ENTER THE ZONAL FLOW...FORECAST TIMING BECOMES A MAJOR HEADACHE. ONCE AGAIN THE GFS/EURO/ETC HAS WAY DIFFERENT TIMING...INCLUDING THEIR RESPECTIVE ENSEMBLE MEMBERS. WE ARE STILL AT DAYS 5 AND 6...AND HAVE SOME TIME TO SORT THROUGH THOSE DETAILS. FOR THIS PACKAGE I TOOK AN ENSEMBLE BLEND...WITH A SLOWER SOLUTION THAT WOULD FAVOR THE GFS IN TIME. STILL...I QUESTION THE MOVE AS THE OLD RULE THE SLOWEST MODEL IS TOO FAST GENERALLY DOESN'T HOLD WHEN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN BRANCHES MEET OVER ZONAL FAST FLOW. ONE MORE CONSIDERATION THAT COULD BE A GAME-CHANGER IN MANY WAYS IS EXACTLY HOW THE SOUTHERN STREAM HANDLES THE SOUTHERN END OF TROF AXIS...IF IT SLOWS AND BREAKS OFF...FORMING A NEW SOUTHEASTERN STATES SURFACE LOW. I'VE WATCHED THIS WRINKLE CLOSELY...AND AM NOT READY TO EITHER BUY INTO IT NOR TOSS IT ASIDE AT THIS POINT. REGARDLESS OF THESE ISSUES...THE SYSTEM WILL CERTAINLY PACK A DECENT FIRST WEEK OF APRIL PUNCH...WITH PLENTY OF INSTABILITY...MOISTURE...AND SHEAR TO GO AROUND. CERTAINLY WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED TIMING DIFFERENCES...THERE WILL BE SOME DIFFERING THREATS PERHAPS...BUT EVEN SO...AS WE VENTURE INTO APRIL IT BECOMES MORE DIFFICULT TO HOLD SURFACE HEATING BACK DUE TO THE HIGHER SUN ANGLE. ADD TO THAT THE CHANGES IN MID AND UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE OR THE LACK THERE OF...I.E. LAPSE RATES ALOFT...AND THE EXACT DETAILS ARE STILL A BIT ELUSIVE AS ONE WOULD EXPECT THIS FAR OUT. HOWEVER...ONE CHANGE THAT WAS MADE WAS FAVORING TORS OVER SVR IN THE HWO...AS THE LOW LEVEL BACKING AND EXTREME MULTI TIERED JETS LOOK SUFFICIENT FOR SUPPORT. STILL NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE THIS SECONDARY FRONTAL LOW...AS IF IT COMES TO PASS...THINGS COULD GO DOWNHILL RATHER RAPIDLY. LOTS OF DETAIL TO WORK OUT THROUGH NEXT MONDAY. 17/KLAWS && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 750 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011 ALZ011>015-017>050-020051- 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- 750 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2011 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...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. A POTENT SURFACE FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE STATE BY MONDAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE BY LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. DAMAGING WINDS...HAIL...ISOLATED TORNADOES...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL ALL BE POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED BY LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe Drought conditions continue in Tallapoosa County.
Severe Drought conditions continue in Chambers County.
Severe Drought conditions continue in Macon County.
Severe Drought conditions continue in Lee County.
Severe Drought conditions continue in Barbour County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, April 2011
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: 297429, 297430, 297431, 297432, 297434.