Below normal rain amounts continued as hot weather developed across southeastern sections of Central Alabama. Therefore, Severe Drought (D2) conditions became more widespread.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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.
Below normal rain amounts continued as hot weather developed across southeastern sections of Central Alabama. Therefore, Severe Drought (D2) conditions became more widespread. These drought conditions affected Lowndes, Montgomery, Pike, Bullock, Elmore and Russell 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 May 9, 11:35 PM CST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1235 AM CDT TUE MAY 10 2011 .UPDATE...AVIATION DISCUSSION. && .DISCUSSION... ANOTHER NIGHT OF MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES...WITH PATCHY FOG POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE BEST CHANCE FOR FOG DEVELOPMENT WILL BE ACROSS THE SOUTH...BUT CAN'T BE RULED OUT ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. WITH DEW POINTS HOLDING FAIRLY STEADY IN THE 60S...OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE IN THE LOW TO MID 60S ONCE AGAIN TONIGHT. OTHER THAN SLIGHT ADJUSTMENTS TO HOURLY TEMPS AND DEW POINTS...THE FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK. UPDATES ARE OUT. 19 && .AVIATION...06Z TAF DISCUSSION. EXPECTING ANOTHER NIGHT OF MVFR AND IFR VISIBILITIES AS SHALLOW GROUND FOG IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER MUCH OF CENTRAL ALABAMA. IT IS LOOKING LIKE THE CROSSOVER TEMPERATURES WILL HOLD BETWEEN 62 AND 65...SO WE WILL LOOK FOR THAT MAGIC NUMBER OVERNIGHT TO GET US TO IFR VIS CONDITIONS. OTHERWISE...THERE ARE NO OTHER AVIATION CONCERNS AS ANY FOG SHOULD RAPIDLY MIX AFTER SUNRISE TOMORROW MORNING. NOTICE...ADDED AMD NOT SKED TO TOI FOR THE 06Z ISSUANCE...AS METARS ARE NOT MAKING IT OUT. WE ARE STILL ABLE TO DIAL IN AND WILL STILL ISSUE THE TAF ITSELF. 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. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 615 PM CDT MON MAY 9 2011/ SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY IS CURRENTLY TO OUR EAST ACROSS GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON. MOISTURE ACROSS ALABAMA IS SHALLOW WITH ONLY FAIR WEATHER CUMULUS AROUND AS EVIDENT VIA VISIBLE SATELLITE. A WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE IS MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHWEST FLOW BUT SHOULD BE LIMITED TO ONLY A TAD EXTRA CLOUDINESS ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PORTIONS OF THE STATE. SO WILL KEEP MENTIONED POPS OUT OF THE FORECAST FOR THIS EVENING. NO COOLER AIR IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE AREA IN THE SHORT TERM. THE WARM UP IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE WITH OVERALL HIGH PRESSURE/THICKNESS RIDGE PEAKING ON TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY. WITH WARMER AIR CONTINUING TO FLOW INTO THE REGION FROM THE SOUTHWEST AROUND THE BACKSIDE OF THE NORTHEASTERN GULF SURFACE RIDGE...HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO CREEP HIGHER FOR THE NEXT 2 DAYS. THE 90S HAVE ALREADY ARRIVED TODAY ACROSS MGM AND SOUTHWARD AS OF 20Z...WITH LOWER 90S SPREADING ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY AS OUR UPPER RIDGE IS ALSO EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN AS WE MOVE INTO MID WEEK. BY EARLY THURSDAY...OUR UPPER HIGH IS PROGGED TO BEGIN BREAKING DOWN AS A LONGWAVE TROUGH MOVES FROM THE WESTERN U.S. NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS FLATTENING THE RIDGE SOMEWHAT AND ALLOWING FOR POTENTIAL DISTURBANCES TO MEANDER EASTWARD ACROSS THE STATE GIVING WAY TO RETURNING SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY BY THURSDAY NIGHT AND A SURFACE FRONT MOVES EASTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAIN STATES IN RESPONSE. 08/MNK LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY. PREVIOUS RUNS OF THE GFS APPEARED TO BE TOO FAST AND DEEP WITH THE APPROACHING UPPER LOW FRIDAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND. WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER OPERATIONAL MODELS AND ENSEMBLES...THE 12Z RUN SEEMS TO BE CONTINUING A SLIGHTLY FASTER SOLUTION ALTHOUGH TENDS TO KEEP SOME ASPECT OF TROUGHING OVER THE SOUTHEAST WELL INTO NEXT WEEK. I SUSPECT THERE WILL BE SOME LEVEL OF BROAD TROUGHINESS OVER THE EASTERN CONUS WITH MULTIPLE SPOKES OF LIFT ROTATING THROUGH THE SOUTHEAST AT VARIABLE TIMES OF THE DAY. THUS SOME TYPE OF HIGHER THAN AVERAGE POP SEEMS REASONABLE THROUGH SUNDAY THEN TAPERING TO CLIMATOLOGY AS THE TROUGH AXIS SHIFTS SLIGHTLY EAST OF THE AREA. INCREASED CLOUD COVER AND SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD ALSO KEEP TEMPERATURES NEAR NORMAL...PERHAPS SLIGHTLY BELOW DURING THE DAY AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE AT NIGHT. 88 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 724 PM CDT MON MAY 9 2011 ALZ011>015-017>050-110030- 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- 724 PM CDT MON MAY 9 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...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
As below normal rain amounts continued into May, drought conditions spread. Severe Drought (D2) conditions were realized in Lowndes County by the 10th.
As below normal rain amounts continued into May, drought conditions spread. Severe Drought (D2) conditions were realized in Montgomery County by the 10th.
As below normal rain amounts continued into May, drought conditions spread. Severe Drought (D2) conditions were realized in Pike County by the 10th. Conditions rapidly deteriorated entering the second half of the month and Pike County was placed into Extreme Drought (D3) conditions on May 24th.
As below normal rain amounts continued into May, drought conditions spread. Severe Drought (D2) conditions were realized in Bullock County by the 10th.
As below normal rain amounts continued into May, drought conditions spread. Severe Drought (D2) conditions were realized in Elmore County by the 10th.
As below normal rain amounts continued into May, drought conditions spread. Severe Drought (D2) conditions were realized in Russell County by the 10th. As the dry and hot conditions lasted into the end of the month, drought conditions worsened and Russell County was added to the Extreme Drought (D3) conditions on the 31st.
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, May 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: 316098, 316100, 316101, 316103, 316104, 316105.