An upper level short-wave trough moved across the Mississippi Valley on September 14 producing a broken line of thunderstorms that moved across Central Alabama. As the line of storms interacted with the moderately unstable air across Alabama, a few thunderstorms became severe, leading to isolated reports of straight line wind damage and hail.
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.
An upper level short-wave trough moved across the Mississippi Valley on September 14 producing a broken line of thunderstorms that moved across Central Alabama. As the line of storms interacted with the moderately unstable air across Alabama, a few thunderstorms became severe, leading to isolated reports of straight line wind damage and hail.
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 Sep 14, 2:13 PM CST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 313 PM CDT WED SEP 14 2011 .DISCUSSION... A COLD FRONT CONTINUES TO APPROACH CENTRAL ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON. ALTHOUGH A GOOD AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS WESTERN MISSISSIPPI...IT HAS STRUGGLED TO MOVE MUCH FARTHER EAST. HOWEVER...AS WE APPROACH PEAK HEATING...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP ACROSS NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI. EXPECT FOR THAT ACTIVITY TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE AS WE HEAD INTO THE EVENING HOURS. FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA ON THURSDAY. WE COULD STILL SEE A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS OR STORMS AHEAD OF THE FRONT...ESPECIALLY IF THE FRONT IS STILL IN THE AREA AS WE REACH PEAK TIME HEATING. DRIER AIR WILL BEGIN TO MOVE IN THURSDAY EVENING. CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN DRY THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND POSSIBLY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK AS A WEDGE BRINGS IN ADDITIONAL DRIER AIR IN THE LOW LEVELS. RAIN COULD RETURN TO THE AREA TOWARDS THE LATTER HALF OF NEXT WEEK. TEMPERATURE WISE...WE WILL BE HEADING INTO A BIT OF A COOL DOWN FOR THIS WEEKEND ONCE THE COOLER AIR IS IN PLACE. TEMPERATURES COULD REMAIN IN THE COOL SIDE THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK ESPECIALLY IF THE WEDGE DOES IN FACT MOVE IN. 10/ARM && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF DISCUSSION. A WEAK FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. EXPECT SCT SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO MOVE INTO WESTERN CENTRAL ALABAMA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...AND SPREAD ACROSS THE AREA OVERNIGHT. A WIND SHIFT TO THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED BEGINNING AT THE NORTHWESTERN TERMINALS THURSDAY MORNING AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. A PERIOD OF MVFR CEILINGS AND LIGHT RAIN WILL LINGER BEHIND THE FRONT. 14 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 63 81 55 74 55 / 30 20 10 10 10 ANNISTON 65 85 58 75 56 / 20 30 10 10 10 BIRMINGHAM 67 82 58 74 58 / 30 20 10 10 10 TUSCALOOSA 68 79 57 79 58 / 40 20 10 10 10 CALERA 67 80 58 75 59 / 30 20 10 10 10 AUBURN 69 85 62 77 59 / 10 30 10 10 10 MONTGOMERY 68 88 60 82 62 / 20 30 10 10 10 TROY 65 89 61 81 63 / 10 30 10 10 10 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 440 PM CDT WED SEP 14 2011 ALZ011>015-017>050-152143- 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- 440 PM CDT WED SEP 14 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR AREAS WEST OF INTERSTATE 65 AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20 59 THROUGH 10 PM. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. 27
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
554 PM CDT WED SEP 14 2011
ALZ011-150000-
MARION AL-
554 PM CDT WED SEP 14 2011
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MARION COUNTY UNTIL 700 PM CDT...
AT 554 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAS TRACKING A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES EAST OF FAIRVIEW...OR 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF RED
BAY...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.
PEA SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM.
LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
HAMILTON...
WESTON...
HACKLEBURG...
BRINN...
SHOTSVILLE...
&&
LAT...LON 3431 8764 3430 8764 3402 8779 3411 8821
3430 8819 3433 8817
TIME...MOT...LOC 2254Z 292DEG 16KT 3433 8818
27The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 53 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:35 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees and powerlines were reported down in the Shiloh Community, along County Road 20.
Several trees were reported down around the city of Haleyville.
Trees were reported down blocking one lane on Highway 278.
Quarter size hail was reported on County Road 49, near Fowlers Crossroads.
Trees and powerlines were reported down in and around Cordova.
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, September 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: 348869, 348871, 348872, 348873, 348874.