During the early morning hours on Friday, April 4, a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) moved into northwest Central Alabama ahead of a cold front. Although instability and wind shear due to an increasing low level jet were high enough to support severe storms, the QLCS weakened quickly as it entered the area as mid and upper level support pulled away from the area.
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.
During the early morning hours on Friday, April 4, a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) moved into northwest Central Alabama ahead of a cold front. Although instability and wind shear due to an increasing low level jet were high enough to support severe storms, the QLCS weakened quickly as it entered the area as mid and upper level support pulled away from the area. Isolated wind damage was reported in Lamar and Fayette counties. The weakened line of thunderstorms continued to move across Central Alabama producing no other damage.
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 Apr 4, 2:44 AM CST, 52 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 344 AM CDT FRI APR 4 2014 .DISCUSSION... FIRST OFF...WILL OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO CONTEND WITH LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS MS AND POISED TO MOVE INTO ALABAMA. NOTED A 51 KT GUST EARLIER THIS MORNING AT GLH...AND SUSPECT THIS LINE WILL HAVE SIMILAR GUSTS ALONG IT IS RACES EASTWARD. ROUGH ANALYSIS GETS THE LEADING EDGE OF THE STORMS INTO OUR NORTHWESTERN COUNTIES JUST BEFORE 5 AM...AND APPROACHING I-59 BETWEEN 7 AND 8 AM. WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF THE LINE REACHES ITS PEAK INTENSITY BEFORE IT ACTUALLY GETS TO ALABAMA...AS MUCH OF THE LARGE SCALE FORCING IS LIFTING OUT TO OUR NORTH. HAVING SAID THAT...THE LINE COULD VERY WELL STILL BRING SOME VERY INTENSE STORMS WITH QUITE A BIT OF DAMAGING WINDS TO AREAS NORTH OF I-20/59 AND WEST OF I-65. WITH THE LINE FULLY DEVELOPED NOW...AND WITH A GOOD HEAD OF STEAM...MY CONFIDENCE IN SOME SORT OF REDEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON BACK BEHIND (ALONG THE ACTUAL COLD FRONT) IT IS REALLY WANING. EVEN IF IT DECREASES TO BELOW SEVERE LEVELS AS IT MARCHES ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA...IT WILL STILL HAVE A LARGE STABILIZING COMPONENT TO IT. IN MY MIND...THE PRIMARY THREAT TO THE EASTERN HALF OF THE AREA IS EITHER THE LINE HOLDS ITS INTENSITY AS IT MOVES IN...OR THE CURRENT LINE RE-INTENSIFIES AS CONDITIONS WARM UP AHEAD OF IT AFTER SUNRISE. A SCENARIO OF COMPLETE WEAKENING AND DEATH OF THE LINE...TO BE FOLLOWED BY STORM DEVELOPMENT INDEPENDENT OF THE LINE...JUST SEEMS LESS PLAUSIBLE. ALL RAIN CHANCES SHOULD COME TO AN END THIS EVENING...WHICH WILL LEAVE A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD OF RAIN FREE CONDITIONS. HOWEVER...WITH THE FRONT GETTING HUNG UP ALONG THE COAST AND ANOTHER VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL TROUGH APPROACHING FROM THE WEST...THE STAGE WILL BE SET FOR ANOTHER SOAKING SYSTEM LATE SATURDAY INTO EARLY MONDAY. THE OLD COLD FRONT IS FORECAST TO TURN AROUND (AND NOT DROWN)... AND TRY TO MOVE NORTH AS A WARM FRONT. THIS WILL BE DIFFICULT AT FIRST...AS A LARGE AREA OF RAIN IS FORECAST TO BREAK OUT ALONG AND NORTH OF THE FRONT WHICH WILL TRY TO KEEP CONDITIONS COOLER. BUT AS A SURFACE LOW FORMS AND BEGINS TO DEEPEN AS IT MOVES NORTHWARD OUT OF THE GULF...LOW LEVEL WARM ADVECTION SHOULD EVENTUALLY HELP PUSH THE FRONT NORTHWARD AT LEAST PART WAY ACROSS OUR CWA. THE EXACT TRACK OF THE SURFACE LOW HAS AN IMPORTANT BEARING ON HOW MUCH CONDITIONS CAN WARM UP AND SUBSEQUENTLY DESTABILIZE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. EXPERIENCE TELLS ME ITS GOING TO BE A TOUGH GO...BUT STILL POSSIBLE. AT THIS TIME...I THINK OUR ONGOING MESSAGE OF A PRIMARILY SOUTHERN ALABAMA THREAT FOR SEVERE STORMS IS STILL VALID...AND WILL MAINTAIN THE MENTION IN THE HWO. WITH THE SURFACE LOW MOVING RAPIDLY NORTHWARD ON MONDAY...ANY SEVERE THREAT THAT IS REALIZED WILL END BEFORE NOON. THAT WILL LEAVE US WITH A DRYING AND COOLING WEST WIND. THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW BECOMES BRIEFLY QUITE AMPLIFIED WITH A DEEP TROUGH RIGHT OVER US ON TUESDAY...WHICH COULD ACTUALLY DEVELOP A FEW SHOWERS. OTHERWISE...DRY CONDITIONS ARE INDICATED BY THE MODELS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. /61/ && .AVIATION... 06Z TAF DISCUSSION. ISENTROPIC LIFT AND INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN CIGS LOWERING BACK TO MVFR OVERNIGHT. ALREADY BEGINNING TO SEE LOWER CLOUDS ALONG THE COAST AND WILL BE SLIDING NORTHWARD. LOWEST CIGS LOOK TO BE OBSERVED IN THE SOUTH AROUND TOI/MGM WHERE IFR IS LIKELY. MODELS HAVE SLOWED A TOUCH IN THE OVERALL PROGRESSION OF THE LINE OF STORMS. WITH THAT IN MIND THE ENVIRONMENT WILL BECOME A TOUCH MORE MOIST AND IFR CIGS ARE NOW POSSIBLE AT ALL ALL SITE BY 9 TO 12Z. A WEAKENING LINE OF SHOWERS/STORMS WILL TRACK FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA BEGINNING EARLY THIS MORNING. CONTINUED TO FINE TUNE THE START TIME OF THE STORMS AND SHOWERS WITH A BLEND OF THE SREF AND NAM OMEGA FIELDS. THESE TIMES WILL MOST CERTAINLY NEED TO BE ADJUSTED LATER TONIGHT AS THE SYSTEM MOVES CLOSER TO THE AREA. ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS POSSIBLE ACROSS EAST/SOUTH PORTIONS OF THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON AS THE ACTUAL COLD FRONT MOVES THRU. MOST OF THIS WILL BE BETWEEN 18 AND 00Z. 16 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 71 45 63 47 63 / 70 0 10 40 80 ANNISTON 72 46 64 47 63 / 70 10 10 40 80 BIRMINGHAM 72 46 64 48 62 / 70 0 10 40 80 TUSCALOOSA 73 47 65 49 63 / 70 0 10 50 80 CALERA 73 48 66 50 63 / 70 0 10 50 80 AUBURN 75 52 68 50 62 / 70 30 20 70 80 MONTGOMERY 79 54 69 52 65 / 50 20 30 80 80 TROY 79 56 70 52 65 / 50 30 30 80 80 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 315 AM CDT FRI APR 4 2014 ALZ011>015-017>050-050830- 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- 315 AM CDT FRI APR 4 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...REMAINDER OF TONIGHT. THROUGH 7 AM...STORMS WILL MOVE INTO NORTHWEST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND BRING A CHANCE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. HOWEVER...A SMALL CHANCE FOR A BRIEF TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. THE BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER DURING THE PRE DAWN HOURS WILL BE GENERALLY WEST OF INTERSTATE 65 AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 59...WITH THE LINE APPROACHING THE BIRMINGHAM METRO AREA BY AROUND 7 TO 8 AM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE INITIAL LINE OF STORMS IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS AS IT MOVES EASTWARD. HOWEVER...ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE INTO FRIDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS SOUTHERN AND EASTERN SECTIONS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA. THE BEST CHANCES WILL BE ACROSS LOCATIONS NEAR AND SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM DIXONS MILL...TO CENTREVILLE...CALERA TO GADSDEN. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. THE TORNADO THREAT SHOULD DIMINISH AS WE MOVE INTO THE AFTERNOON. THE SECOND THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL COME LATE SUNDAY EVENING INTO MONDAY MORNING AS A STRONG SYSTEM MOVES NORTHEASTWARD FROM THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST. THE MAIN THREAT AGAIN WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS...BUT ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE... AS WELL AS A THREAT FOR HEAVY RAINFALL AT TIMES. THE MAIN TIME FRAME WILL BE FROM AROUND 10 PM SUNDAY THROUGH 10 AM MONDAY. THE AREA IMPACTED WILL BE GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF A DEMOPOLIS...TO CLANTON...TO ALEXANDER CITY LINE. THERE REMAINS SOME UNCERTAINTY WITH THIS SYSTEM...SO THESE TIMES MAY NEED TO BE ADJUSTED SOME AS WE GET CLOSER TO SUNDAY. THE POTENTIAL AREAS AFFECTED ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS WELL. WINDS ON MONDAY BEHIND THE SYSTEM MAY BE RATHER BREEZY ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH ALONG WITH HIGHER GUSTS POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED OVERNIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON...AND AGAIN SUNDAY EVENING INTO MONDAY MORNING. 08/MK
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 17 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:36 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous trees were blown down between Detroit and Sulligent.
Trees were blown down along County Road 49, south of Winfield.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, April 2014
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: 515575, 515576.