Persistent northwesterly flow around a strong ridge continued to bring mesoscale convective systems (MCS) and outflow boundaries into Central Alabama. On Wednesday, August 10, an outflow boundary from convection upstream moved into the area and interacted with an unstable air mass producing several clusters of thunderstorms.
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.
Persistent northwesterly flow around a strong ridge continued to bring mesoscale convective systems (MCS) and outflow boundaries into Central Alabama. On Wednesday, August 10, an outflow boundary from convection upstream moved into the area and interacted with an unstable air mass producing several clusters of thunderstorms. As the activity moved southwestward, isolated wind damage occurred across portions of west and southwest 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 Aug 10, 11:45 AM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1245 PM CDT WED AUG 10 2011 .UPDATE... ALTHOUGH MCS OVER MEMPHIS AREA IS WEAKENING...ONLY RECENT MODEL RUNS HAVE BEGUN TO PICK UP THIS FEATURE WHICH IS MOVING FASTER THAN PREV MODELS INDICATED. 12Z NAM AND 11-13Z HRRR RUNS INDICATE COULD SEE REDEVELOPMENT OF SCT TSRA THIS AFTERNOON OVER WRN ZONES...LIKELY DUE TO ENHANCED FLOW AND LOW LEVEL FORCING DUE TO MCV. NEW MET GUIDANCE ALSO HAS SLT CHC TO CHC POPS WHICH IS QUITE A BIT HIGHER THAN PREVIOUS RUNS. ON SAT IMAGERY...LOW AND MID CLOUDS ALREADY DEVELOPING LATE THIS MORNING SO MOISTURE HAS RECOVERED SOME FROM FAIRLY DRY SOUNDING AT 12Z. HAVE BUMPED UP POPS FOR WESTERN 2/3RDS OF CWA TODAY. LIKEWISE...COULD SEE SOME SVR STORMS MOVE IN A LITTLE SOONER THAN PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED ASSUMING THEY DEVELOP. WILL TWEAK HWO TO ADD SVR POSS BEGINNING LATE THIS AFTERNOON FOR WESTERN AREAS AFTER LOOKING AT 16Z SPC DAY1 OUTLOOK. REST OF FCST LOOKS GOOD. SNELSON && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF DISCUSSION. REMNANTS OF MCS MOVING ACROSS THE MID SOUTH WILL PUSH INTO ALABAMA LATE THIS AFTERNOON. HAVE INCLUDED CB IN THE TAFS BEGINNING 22Z WEST THROUGH 00Z EAST/SOUTHEAST. ANY CONVECTION SHOULD DISSIPATE OVERNIGHT. EXPECT MVFR FOG TO DEVELOP AT MOST SITES WITH CALM WINDS. MODELS INDICATE ANOTHER MCS MOVING ACROSS THE AREA EARLY THURSDAY... SO HAVE MADE MINOR ADJUSTMENTS AND STARTED CB AT 12Z TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS. TIMING STILL UNCERTAIN AS WELL AS POTENTIAL STRENGTH SO NO ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO THURSDAY TAF AT THIS TIME. WESTERLY WINDS EXPECTED BUT SOME HINTS AT NORTHEASTERLY WINDS THURSDAY WITH THE MCS PASSING THROUGH. TDP && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 93 69 92 68 93 / 10 20 30 20 30 ANNISTON 93 72 94 68 94 / 10 20 30 20 30 BIRMINGHAM 94 75 94 73 94 / 20 30 30 20 30 TUSCALOOSA 96 73 95 70 96 / 20 30 30 20 30 CALERA 94 73 92 70 94 / 20 20 30 20 30 AUBURN 93 74 95 72 95 / 10 20 30 20 30 MONTGOMERY 95 75 97 72 97 / 10 10 30 20 30 TROY 95 72 96 70 97 / 10 10 30 20 30 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1145 AM CDT WED AUG 10 2011 ALZ011>015-017>050-111045- MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN- CHEROKEE-CLEBURNE-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR- TALLADEGA-CLAY-RANDOLPH-SUMTER-GREENE-HALE-PERRY-BIBB-CHILTON- COOSA-TALLAPOOSA-CHAMBERS-MARENGO-DALLAS-AUTAUGA-LOWNDES-ELMORE- MONTGOMERY-MACON-BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR- 1145 AM CDT WED AUG 10 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...MAINLY LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING AS THE REMNANTS OF STORMS OVER THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY MOVE INTO THE AREA. IMPACTED AREAS INCLUDE PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA ALONG AND WEST OF A MONTGOMERY TO ANNISTON LINE. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY CONTINUE INTO THE REST OF CENTRAL ALABAMA DURING THE DAY THURSDAY. THE HAZARDOUS THREATS INCLUDE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WIND GUSTS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND HEAVY RAIN. THERE ARE STILL SOME TIMING DIFFERENCES AND THE EXACT TIMING WILL BE DETERMINED BY UPSTREAM CONVECTION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED ACROSS THE AREA OVERNIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 149 PM CDT WED AUG 10 2011 ALZ022-101930- 149 PM CDT WED AUG 10 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH IN PICKENS COUNTY UNTIL 230 PM CDT... AT 146 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF PICKENSVILLE TO 10 MILES SOUTH OF MEMPHIS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. LIGHTNING DETECTION SYSTEMS INDICATE NUMEROUS CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES ACROSS PICKENS COUNTY...INCLUDING AREAS AROUND PICKENSVILLE...MEMPHIS...MCMULLEN...ALICEVILLE AND CARROLLTON. RESIDENTS IN THIS AREA SHOULD STAY INDOORS. IN ADDITION WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE AS THE STORM MOVES ACROSS THE COUNTY. ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES AND TELEPHONES SHOULD NOT BE USED UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY.
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 94 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:01 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was knocked down along Highway 17 near the intersection of Highway 32.
Numerous trees were knocked down across Perry county, mainly affecting locations north of Marion, including the community of Sprott.
Several trees were knocked down along County Road 6 and County Road 10 in southwest Perry county.
Trees were knocked down along Highway 219.
Trees were knocked down along County Road 139.
Numerous trees were knocked down across a significant portion of Pickens county, including in and around the cities of Carrollton and Aliceville, resulting in power and telephone line outages.
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, August 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: 343024, 343025, 344021, 343962, 343026, 343729.