A cold front pushed through Central Alabama in the early morning hours of New Year's Day producing strong damaging winds and isolated flash flooding. Ahead of this front, strong gradient winds knocked down trees and caused minor structural damage in several places in north Central Alabama.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
A cold front pushed through Central Alabama in the early morning hours of New Year's Day producing strong damaging winds and isolated flash flooding. Ahead of this front, strong gradient winds knocked down trees and caused minor structural damage in several places in north 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 Jan 1, 12:29 AM CST, 51 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1229 AM CST SAT JAN 1 2011 .UPDATE...FOR WIND ADVISORY. && .DISCUSSION... OVERALL NOT MUCH OF A CHANGE TO THE FORECAST IN REGARDS TO THE TEMPERATURE TRENDS AND FLOODING THREAT. WILL ONLY BE MAKING SOME TWEAKS HERE. CLOUD COVER AND INSULATION WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES FROM GOING REALLY ANYWHERE TONIGHT AHEAD OF THE FRONT THAT WILL WORK THROUGH SATURDAY. RIGHT NOW ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OUT THERE THIS EVENING WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS BACK TO OUR WEST. THE BIGGEST THREAT FOR THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT WILL BE THE FLOODING THREAT. HOWEVER...THERE DOES APPEAR TO BE THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND EVEN ISOLATED TORNADOES ACROSS THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA. WE ARE CURRENTLY WATCHING A COMPLEX MOVE INTO SOUTHWESTERN PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA THAT HAS BEEN TORNADIC AT TIMES THIS EVENING. THIS CELL HAS WEAKENED AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO AS IT MOVES EAST. DEWPOINTS REMAIN IN THE 50S ACROSS THE WESTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE AREA...WITH A FEW LOW END 60S IN THE FAR SOUTH. WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEE DEWPOINTS RISE ACROSS THE WEST THROUGH THE EVENING AND AS WE APPROACH THE NEW YEAR THE THREAT WILL INCREASE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS WESTERN AREAS. WHILE THE ENVIRONMENT REMAINS IN A HIGH SHEAR...LOW CAPE SITUATION THIS WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE AS A SECONDARY SHORTWAVE BEGINS TO SWEEP THROUGH THE AREA. THIS IS ALREADY TRIGGERING THE STORMS ACROSS LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI THIS EVENING. AS THIS SHORTWAVE ROLLS THROUGH THE POTENTIAL INCREASES ACROSS WESTERN ALABAMA. UPDATES WILL BE OUT SOON. && .AVIATION...06Z TAF DISCUSSION. SCATTERED SH CONTINUE TO PLAGUE THE NORTHERN SITES THIS EVENING. THIS TREND WILL PERSIST FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 12-14 HOURS AS THE FRONT IS STILL A WAYS TO THE WEST...BUT BEFORE THE FRONT GETS HERE...WIDESPREAD TS WILL BE THE STORY. CIGS AND VIS WILL CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE TONIGHT. A FEW SITES ARE SEEING VFR...BUT EVERYONE WILL FALL TO IFR DURING THE OVERNIGHT AND INTO THE MORNING AS RAIN INTENSIFIES. WINDS WILL REMAIN GUSTY OUT OF THE SOUTHEAST...BUT IT LOOKS LIKE FROPA COULD BE AS EARLY AS 16Z AT TCL AND MOVE THROUGH MGM/TOI BY 00-01Z. NOTICE...KEET TAF WILL HAVE (AMD LTD TO VIS WIND AND WX) AMENDED TO THE END OF THE FORECAST THROUGH THE END OF THE 2010/2011 WINTER SEASON. THE CEILOMETER DATA WILL BE GOING THROUGH NUMEROUS TESTS AND MONITORED FOR ACCURACY. && .HYDROLOGY...RIVER OUTLOOK. MOST OF THE HEAVIER RAINFALL TONIGHT AND SATURDAY IS EXPECTED TO FALL IN THE TOMBIGBEE AND WARRIOR RIVER BASINS. CURRENT PROJECTIONS SHOW THAT WHILE A 1.5 TO 2 INCH BASIN AVERAGE WILL CREATE SIGNIFICANT RISES ON THE TOMBIGBEE AND WARRIOR BASINS...CURRENT LEVELS ARE LOW ENOUGH TO KEEP AREA FORECAST POINTS FROM GOING INTO FLOOD. IT WOULD TAKE CLOSER TO 2.5 OR 3 INCHES FOR WIDESPREAD MINOR FLOODING TO OCCUR. && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: BIBB...BLOUNT...FAYETTE... GREENE...HALE...JEFFERSON...LAMAR...MARENGO...MARION...PERRY... PICKENS...SHELBY...SUMTER...TUSCALOOSA...WALKER...WINSTON. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 9 AM FOR ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA. && 16/27/88
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1245 AM CST SAT JAN 1 2011 ALZ011>015-017>050-020015- 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- 1245 AM CST SAT JAN 1 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...OVERNIGHT. MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN IN WESTERN ALABAMA OVERNIGHT AS STORMS WILL HAVE A TENDENCY TO TRAIN OVER THE SAME LOCATION AND COULD RESULT IN LOCALIZED FLOODING. ALONG WITH THE HEAVY RAIN...THERE IS A SMALL THREAT FOR SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. THE THREAT WOULD INCLUDE DAMAGING WINDS...HAIL...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES...MAINLY ALONG AND WEST OF A LINE FROM ONEONTA TO CENTREVILLE TO LINDEN. THE HIGHEST POTENTIAL FOR THIS ACTIVITY THROUGH 6 AM WILL REMAIN WEST OF A CORDOVA...TO TUSCALOOSA...TO DEMOPOLIS LINE. STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15 TO 20 MPH AND GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THERE IS A THREAT OF PROLONGED HEAVY RAINFALL ESPECIALLY IN WESTERN ALABAMA THROUGH SATURDAY...NEW YEARS DAY. THE EXPECTED RAINFALL BY THE MORNING MAY BE HEAVY ENOUGH TO PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING. THE THREAT WILL CONTINUE FOR ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS...MAINLY ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 65 UNTIL NOON. DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT...ALTHOUGH AN ISOLATED TORNADO CAN NOT BE RULED OUT. STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15 TO 20 MPH AND GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE MORNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED OVERNIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING.
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:20 UTC.
3 strong wind, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A couple trees were blown down along Highway 278 and Highway 13.
Gradient winds knocked down a tree onto Holt Peterson Rd.
Multiple trees were blown down on Highway 17.
A couple roads were washed out.
Several roads across the county were washed out or impassable.
Due to gradient winds, an awning at a gas station on Highway 231 in Blountsville was blown down onto gas pumps.
Due to gradient winds, a tree at Bruton Gap Road and Hazel Bend Road was blown down and blocking the roadway.
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, January 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: 279887, 282038, 279886, 279889, 279888, 282041, 282042.