On August 6 and 7, a front stalled to the northwest of Central Alabama and outflow boundaries from convection along the front pushed into the area. These boundaries combined with a weakness in the upper level ridge pattern and a moist airmass resulted in thunderstorms and locally heavy rain.
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.
On August 6 and 7, a front stalled to the northwest of Central Alabama and outflow boundaries from convection along the front pushed into the area. These boundaries combined with a weakness in the upper level ridge pattern and a moist airmass resulted in thunderstorms and locally heavy rain.
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 6, 5:26 AM CST, 3 hours 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 626 AM CDT MON AUG 6 2012 .UPDATE... FOR AVIATION. && .DISCUSSION... THIS AM...INVERTED TROUGH MOVING SLOWLY WWD ACROSS THE FL/AL GULF COAST. THIS WILL ENHANCE OUR PRECIP CHANCES ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA TODAY ESPECIALLY SE DURING THE AFTERNOON. TO OUR NW WE HAVE A SLOW MOVING SURFACE FRONT. THIS FRONT MAY MAKE A LITTLE MORE PROGRESS INTO THE FAR NRN PARTS OF NRN AL...BUT IS NOT EXPECTED TO PUSH THROUGH THE CWA. THE UPPER FLOW ALTHOUGH NRLY AT THIS TIME IS WEAK AND WILL ONLY GET WEAKER AS THE MAIN UPPER TROUGH ACROSS ERN CANADA MOVES AWAY CREATING A MORE ZONAL FLOW ACROSS THE NE PART OF CONUS AND WEAK RIDGING ACROSS THE SE U.S. THE AFOREMENTIONED SURFACE ENHANCEMENT WILL CONTINUE FOR TUE AS THE SURFACE LOW WILL MAKE SLOW PROGRESS TOWARD SW AL. SO AGAIN ERN AREAS BEST CHANCE FOR ACTIVITY. THE NRN BOUNDARY BEGINS TO LOSE ENERGY AS MAIN TROUGH PULLS AWAY. AS WE MOVE INTO MID WEEK FOR WED/THU THE SW AL LOW MOVES A LITTLE FURTHER NWD INTO THE AREA...BUT LOW LEVEL FLOW FEEDING IT BECOMES MORE SW. SO AGAIN RAIN CHANCES CONTINUE BUT SLIGHTLY LOWER WITH BEST CHANCES SE WHERE BEST MOISTURE FEED WILL EXIST. ON THU...BEGIN TO SEE AN UPPER LEVEL PATTERN CHANGE AS EXTENDED MODELS WANT TO BEGIN TO DIG A DECENT TROUGH INTO MN. IF THIS TROUGH ACTUALLY DIGS AS MUCH AS MODELS ARE ATTEMPTING TO DO...THEN I COULD SEE THE ADVERTISED ASSOCIATED SURFACE FRONT MAKING IT THROUGH THE AREA UNLIKE THE PRESENT UPPER FEATURE WHICH SKIRTS CANADA...THIS TROUGH WANTS TO PUSH INTO THE OHIO VALLEY...POSSIBLY FURTHER DEVELOPING A CLOSED LOW. THIS WOULD GIVE A SUFFICIENT NRLY PUSH AND COULD USHER IN A PLEASANT AIR MASS FOR NEXT WEEKEND. HOWEVER...THE MODELS WILL NEED TO SHOW SOME CONSISTENCY BEFORE I GET TOO EXCITED...THIS IS STILL AUG. ONE LAST CARROT TO DANGLE... THE GFS ENSEMBLE MEMBERS AT 500MB ARE SURPRISINGLY CLOSE FOR FRI...SO I AM HOPEFUL. AT ANY RATE MOISTURE BECOMES MORE LIMITED AND SHALLOW SO POPS ARE LOWER BY THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK EITHER WAY FOR NOW. 08/MK && .AVIATION... 12Z TAF DISCUSSION. MAIN CONCERN FOR THE MORNING IS IS A DECK OF LOW CLOUDS ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF ALABAMA CAUSING MVFR TO BRIEFLY IFR CIGS. SOMETIMES THESE CLOUD LAYERS CAN BE STUBBORN BUT THESE ARE EXPECTED TO LIFT BY 15Z. THUNDERSTORMS ARE A GOOD BET FOR MOST OR ALL TAF SITES LATER TODAY WITH THE BEST CHANCE AFTER 19Z. INCLUDED VCTS AT ALL SITES TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS. THE NEXT PACKAGE WILL HAVE A BETTER HANDLE ON SPECIFIC TIMING AND IMPACTS OF STORMS. 87/GRANTHAM && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 90 72 89 70 91 / 30 20 30 20 20 ANNISTON 89 71 88 70 90 / 20 20 40 20 20 BIRMINGHAM 89 72 89 72 91 / 30 20 20 20 10 TUSCALOOSA 93 72 92 72 93 / 20 20 20 10 10 CALERA 89 72 89 71 90 / 20 20 20 20 10 AUBURN 88 71 88 71 90 / 50 40 40 30 20 MONTGOMERY 90 73 91 73 92 / 30 20 30 20 20 TROY 89 72 89 70 91 / 50 50 50 20 30 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 08/87
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 530 AM CDT MON AUG 6 2012 ALZ011>015-017>050-071030- 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- 530 AM CDT MON AUG 6 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND 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 Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:59 UTC.
1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
A period of heavy rainfall led to over 6 inches of flowing water covering Highway 278 in Sulligent, causing it to be closed.
A period of brief heavy rainfall and poor drainage issues led to approximately a foot of standing water over several roadways in Tuscaloosa.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, August 2012
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: 409043, 409044.