A cold front moved across the State of Alabama during the morning hours of February 24th, producing a line of storms along the front. In the southeast portion of central Alabama, breaks in cloud cover after the sun had risen, allowed for the atmosphere to destabilize out ahead of the front.
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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 moved across the State of Alabama during the morning hours of February 24th, producing a line of storms along the front. In the southeast portion of central Alabama, breaks in cloud cover after the sun had risen, allowed for the atmosphere to destabilize out ahead of the front. This caused the line of storms to intensify, creating isolated severe thunderstorms in portions of the southeast. Sporadic tree damage and hail of up to 1 inch was reported in several 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 Feb 24, 6:12 AM CST, 1 hour 36 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 612 AM CST FRI FEB 24 2012 .UPDATE... FOR 12Z AVIATION. && .DISCUSSION... ACTIVE AND PROGRESSIVE WEATHER PATTERN TO CONTINUE ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES IN GENERAL...AND CENTRAL ALABAMA IN PARTICULAR...OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS. COLD FRONT CURRENTLY PUSHING INTO OUR NORTHWEST COUNTIES WAS FINALLY ABLE TO HELP DEVELOP SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG IT IN MISSISSIPPI EARLY THIS MORNING. SURFACE DEW POINTS HAVE RECOVERED FROM THURSDAY'S DIURNAL MINIMUM...AND WEAK IMPULSES IN THE UPPER FLOW APPROACHING THE FRONTAL LOCATION ARE FINALLY STARTING TO (AT LEAST MARGINALLY) OVERCOME THE CAPPING THAT HAD (UP UNTIL NOW) SUPPRESSED CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT. WILL HAVE TO WATCH THESE CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENTS CLOSELY THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS. OTHERWISE...MESOSCALE ITEMS MENTIONED IN LAST NIGHT'S DISCUSSION STILL APPLY. THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA SHOULD ULTIMATELY BE FREE FROM RAIN...IF NOT BY NOON THEN NOT TOO LONG AFTER NOON. COLD ADVECTION WILL INITIALLY BRING FALLING TEMPERATURES IN THE NORTHWEST...WHICH SHOULD LEVEL OFF OR RISE SLOWLY BACK UP INTO THE MID/UPPER 50S IN THE AFTERNOON. THERE WILL LIKELY BE A PRONOUNCED GRADIENT IN HIGH TEMPS TODAY ACROSS THE AREA...DEFINED BY THE FRONTAL POSITION. DRIER AND COOLER AIR CONTINUES TO PUSH IN FROM THE NORTH TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. BY SUNDAY MORNING...THE SURFACE HIGH IS ALREADY WELL TO OUR NORTHEAST...AS THE UPPER LEVEL LOW CURRENTLY IN NORTHERN MEXICO APPROACHES. THE PASSAGE OF THE UPPER LOW WILL BRING SOME SMALL RISK OF OVERRUNNING RAIN TO THE SOUTH PART OF OUR AREA. THE LOW LEVEL AIR MASS WILL STILL BE QUITE DRY AT THAT TIME HOWEVER...AND ANY RAIN THAT DOES MAKE IT DOWN TO THE GROUND IS BOUND TO BE SPOTTY AND OF VERY LIGHT INTENSITY. IN THE WAKE OF THAT UPPER LOW...THE MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT IN DEVELOPING A LARGE SCALE TROUGH IN THE WESTERN STATES...WHICH HELPS BUILD SOME RIDGING DOWNSTREAM FROM IT IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTRY. THIS WILL AT LEAST HELP KEEP CONDITIONS ON THE MILD SIDE. THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS FORECAST TO MOVE ACROSS THE MIDDLE PART OF THE COUNTRY AND INTO THE GREAT LAKES REGION BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. WHILE THE LONG RANGE MODELS DIFFER ON THE DETAILS...THE GFS...ECMWF...AND GEM DO GENERALLY AGREE IN HAVING A HIGH IMPACT STORM SYSTEM AFFECTING THE UPPER MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES...WITH AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT PUSHING THROUGH THE MID SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST WEDNESDAY-ISH. GIVEN THE TIME OF YEAR...AND THE FORECASTS OF INSTABILITY AND SHEAR PROVIDED BY THE MODELS...WILL INTRODUCE A LOW CONFIDENCE MENTION OF A SEVERE STORM/TORNADO THREAT IN THE HWO FOR WEDNESDAY. /61/ .AVIATION... 12Z TAF DISCUSSION. A COLD FRONT WILL PROGRESS THROUGH ALABAMA TODAY. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL VEER AROUND TO NORTHWESTERLY AS THE FRONT PASSES. EXPECT THE BEST CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS... AND LOWERED VIS/CIGS... WILL BE FOR KMGM AND KTOI THROUGH THE LATE MORNING HOURS SINCE BEST INSTABILITY IS LOCATED THERE. -SHRA AND VCSH WILL BE LIKELY ELSEWHERE BEFORE THE FRONT PASSES. CLOUDS SHOULD CLEAR BEHIND THE FRONT BY THIS AFTERNOON... AND VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THEREAFTER. 77/GLEASON .FIRE WEATHER... WITH LOWER DEWPOINTS RETURNING TO THE AREA...AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITIES MAY REACH CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER LEVELS ON SATURDAY. IF CONFIDENCE INCREASES IN LATER FORECASTS...THEN FIRE WEATHER WATCHES/RED FLAG WARNINGS MAY BE NEEDED. /61/ && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 66 32 53 35 56 / 40 0 0 10 10 ANNISTON 66 34 52 37 56 / 60 0 0 10 10 BIRMINGHAM 66 34 53 39 57 / 40 0 0 10 10 TUSCALOOSA 66 35 56 40 60 / 40 0 0 10 10 CALERA 67 36 54 40 58 / 60 0 0 10 10 AUBURN 68 37 54 40 55 / 80 10 0 10 20 MONTGOMERY 70 39 56 43 59 / 80 10 0 10 20 TROY 70 39 56 41 57 / 80 10 0 10 20 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 553 AM CST FRI FEB 24 2012 ALZ011>015-017>050-251200- 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- 553 AM CST FRI FEB 24 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA ALONG AND AHEAD OF AN ADVANCING COLD FRONT THROUGH NOON TODAY. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AND HAIL... BUT ISOLATED TORNADOES REMAIN POSSIBLE. THE THREAT WILL BE HIGHEST ACROSS AN AREA ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM SELMA TO MONTGOMERY TO AUBURN. ANY STORMS THAT FORM IN THIS AREA WILL HAVE THE BEST CHANCE TO BECOME SEVERE THROUGH NOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. DRIER AIR WILL FILTER INTO CENTRAL ALABAMA THIS WEEKEND... RESULTING IN LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES. THIS COULD RESULT IN A HIGH FIRE DANGER SATURDAY AFTERNOON. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA WEDNESDAY... BRINGING WITH IT A THREAT FOR DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED THROUGH NOON TODAY.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees were snapped and one utility building was overturned in the city of Lanett.
Several large trees were blown down, blocking US Highway 21.
Several trees were uprooted near Interstate 65.
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, February 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: 368214, 368215, 368217, 368221, 368218, 368223, 368224, 368225, 368228.