Below normal rainfall fell across Central Alabama during the months of October and November. Most locations received only 1 to 3 inches of rainfall for the two month total.
Every event with a place to put it; 13 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 rainfall fell across Central Alabama during the months of October and November. Most locations received only 1 to 3 inches of rainfall for the two month total. This led to drought conditions continuing across parts of eastern Central Alabama. Drought conditions worsened for several counties due to the lack of rainfall, including Chambers, Clay, Tallapoosa, Randolph, and Lee 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 Oct 31, 10:45 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1145 PM CDT WED OCT 31 2012 .UPDATE... AVIATION. && .DISCUSSION... A FAIRLY CHILLY HALLOWEEN NIGHT IS IN STORE FOR CENTRAL ALABAMA...WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES PREVAILING. DRY AIR CONTINUES TO FILTER IN FROM THE NORTHWEST WHICH WILL ALLOW SUFFICIENT COOLING FOR A FEW LOCATIONS TO DROP BELOW FREEZING...MUCH LIKE WE OBSERVED LAST NIGHT. WINDS SHOULD GO FAIRLY CALM DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS WHICH WILL HELP RADIATIONAL COOLING. THE MOST WIDESPREAD FREEZING TEMPERATURES STILL LOOK TO BE IN OUR FAR NORTHEAST COUNTIES...BUT A FEW ISOLATED SHELTERED LOCATIONS COULD DIP BELOW 32 FOR A SHORT TIME ONCE AGAIN. TEMPERATURES ARE GENERALLY HIGHER TONIGHT THAN LAST NIGHT AT THIS TIME...BUT DUE TO THE DRY CONDITIONS AT THE SURFACE AND CALM WINDS WE SHOULD OBSERVE SOME FAIRLY QUICK COOLING OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. LOW TO MID 30S WILL BE LIKELY ACROSS THE NORTHERN TIER OF COUNTIES...WITH MID TO UPPER 30S CENTRAL AND LOWER 40S ACROSS THE SOUTH. UPDATES ARE ALREADY OUT. 56/GDG && .AVIATION... 06Z TAF DISCUSSION. VFR CONDITIONS PREVAIL THROUGH THE PERIOD. A FEW HIGH CLOUDS WILL DRIFT BY FROM TIME TO TIME...POSSIBLY A FEW IN THE 9-15K FT RANGE...BUT NO PROBLEMS. WINDS WILL RELAX OVERNIGHT AND PICK BACK UP BY 15-16Z. MENTIONED 6-8KTS WITH SOME GUSTS INTO THE 15-18KT RANGE MAINLY EAST...TOI/ANB. CENTRAL ALABAMA REMAINS ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE UPPER TROUGH...WHAT IS LEFT OF SUPERSTORM SANDY. FAIRLY WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE BUILDING INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST THE NEXT 24 HOURS OR SO. 75 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 643 PM CDT WED OCT 31 2012/ DISCUSSION... NW FLOW IN THE UPPER LEVELS ALONG WITH HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE NEAR THE SURFACE WILL ALLOW FOR ONE MORE COLD NIGHT BEFORE WE START WARMING SLIGHTLY. HAVE GONE WITH A FREEZE WARNING IN THE FAR NE 4 COUNTIES FOR TONIGHT WITH CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS AS WHAT IS LEFT OF SANDY MOVES TO THE NE AND ALLOWS FOR A RELAXING OF GRADIENTS ACROSS AL. BY THU...UPPER LOW OVER THE GREAT LAKES IS EXPECTED TO SHIFT A TAD NE ALLOWING FOR UPPER WRN CONUS RIDGE TO FLATTEN SOME AND COLD AIR INTRUSION TO SLOW DOWN. THIS ALONG WITH THE SURFACE RIDGE WEAKENING OVER THE S WILL ALLOW FOR A MODERATING TREND IN OUR TEMPERATURES FROM THU DAY THROUGH SAT NIGHT. OUR NEXT FRONT WILL APPROACH ON SUN. SO HAVE ADDED LOW POPS FOR SAT NT AHEAD OF IT. MODELS ARE TRENDING SLIGHTLY FASTER WITH THIS SYSTEM SO HAVE ALSO ENDED POPS A LITTLE EARLIER FROM W TO E ON MON DAY. NOT EXPECTING ANY STRONG STORMS WITH THIS SYSTEM AS OF NOW. FOR THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK THE FRONT WILL HELP TO COOL TEMPERATURES BACK INTO THE 40S/60S FOR MIN/MAX. NOT EXPECTING AS COOL WITH THIS NEXT SYSTEM AS SANDY HELPED TO ENHANCE OUR COLD AIR ADVECTION ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE STORM. 08/MK && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 33 64 43 71 46 / 0 0 0 0 0 ANNISTON 35 63 43 72 47 / 0 0 0 0 0 BIRMINGHAM 38 66 45 74 50 / 0 0 0 0 0 TUSCALOOSA 40 69 45 76 51 / 0 0 0 0 0 CALERA 39 66 45 75 51 / 0 0 0 0 0 AUBURN 38 67 45 75 51 / 0 0 0 0 0 MONTGOMERY 41 71 46 78 51 / 0 0 0 0 0 TROY 38 70 45 77 51 / 0 0 0 0 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FREEZE WARNING FROM 1 AM TO 9 AM CDT THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: CALHOUN...CHEROKEE...CLEBURNE...ETOWAH. && 75/56/08
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 649 PM CDT WED OCT 31 2012 ALZ011>015-017>050-020000- 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- 649 PM CDT WED OCT 31 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. ANOTHER COOL NIGHT IS EXPECTED ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO DROP INTO THE LOW TO MID 30S ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE AREA. SEVERAL PROTECTED AREAS IN THE NORTHEAST WILL BRIEFLY DROP TO NEAR 32 DEGREES. PROTECTION OF SENSITIVE VEGETATION WILL BECOME NECESSARY OVERNIGHT. .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.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Montgomery County experienced Severe drought (D2) conditions for the month of November.
Bullock County experienced Severe drought (D2) conditions for the month of November.
Barbour County experienced Severe drought (D2) conditions for the month of November.
Elmore County experienced Extreme drought (D3) conditions for the month of November.
Cleburne County experienced Extreme drought (D3) conditions for the month of November.
Coosa County experienced Extreme drought (D3) conditions for the month of November.
Macon County experienced Extreme drought (D3) conditions for the month of November.
Russell County experienced Extreme drought (D3) conditions for the month of November.
Russell County experienced Exceptional drought (D4) conditions for the month of November.
Clay County experienced Exceptional drought (D4) conditions for the month of November.
Tallapoosa County experienced Exceptional drought (D4) conditions for the month of November.
Lee County experienced Exceptional drought (D4) conditions for the month of November.
Chambers County experienced Exceptional drought (D4) conditions for the month of November.
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, November 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: 417739, 417740, 417741, 417742, 417743, 417744, 417745, 417746, 417747, 417748, 417749, 417750, 417751.