Strong to severe thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front. Bulk Shear values were high enough to promote rotating storms.
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.
Strong to severe thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front. Bulk Shear values were high enough to promote rotating storms.
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 3, 5:41 PM CST, 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 641 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 .UPDATE... AVIATION DISCUSSION. && .DISCUSSION... THE FORECAST FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING SEEMS FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD WITH STORMS EXPECTED TO INITIATE ALONG OR JUST AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT ACROSS EASTERN ARKANSAS AND EVENTUALLY INTO NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI AND NORTHWEST ALABAMA. A TONGUE OF HIGHER QUALITY MOISTURE IS EVIDENT IN THAT REGION BASED ON VISIBLE SATELLITE AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS. MLCAPE OF 1000-1500 J/KG AND WESTERLY DEEP-LAYER SHEAR OF 40-50 KT ORIENTED AT AROUND 45 DEG TO THE ZONE OF DEVELOPMENT...SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO A BROKEN LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WITH SUPERCELLS AND BOWING SEGMENTS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 70 MPH AND HAIL UP TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER. A BRIEF TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT WHERE STRONGER REAR INFLOW OCCURS...BUT THIS POTENTIAL SHOULD BE LIMITED BY MODEST 0-1 KM SHEAR AND HELICITY AND HIGHER-THAN-OPTIMAL LCL HEIGHTS. THE GREATEST RISK SHOULD BE CONFINED TO OUR NORTHWEST COUNTIES FROM 6-9 PM AS STORMS INTERACT WITH ZONE OF ENHANCED INSTABILITY. STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO SLOWLY WEAKEN AS THEY APPROACH THE I-59 CORRIDOR...WITH THE SEVERE THREAT ENDING AROUND MIDNIGHT. IN THE WAKE OF THE COLD FRONT...THE WEEKEND SHOULD BE DRY FOR THE MOST PART WITH TEMPERATURES RETURNING CLOSER TO NORMAL FOR BOTH SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. A SERIES OF IMPULSES IN THE SOUTHERN STREAM WILL MOVE TOWARD THE AREA BEGINNING LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH RAIN CHANCES INCREASING SUBSTANTIALLY SUNDAY EVENING INTO MONDAY ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE WEST AND NORTH. DEWPOINTS IN THE MID TO UPPER 60S WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD BY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...AND MODELS SUGGEST THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE TO OUR SOUTH WILL REMAIN FLAT ENOUGH FOR DAILY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND STORMS. EVEN THOUGH WE ARE IN THE HEART OF SEVERE WEATHER SEASON...A LACK OF DEEP-LAYER SHEAR SHOULD KEEP STORMS FROM BECOMING ORGANIZED AT LEAST THROUGH MIDWEEK. 87/GRANTHAM && .AVIATION... 00Z TAF DISCUSSION. ISOLATED TSTORMS POSSIBLE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS...MAINLY NEAR TCL AND BHM...BUT DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH CONFIDENCE IN THE TERMINAL ACTUALLY BEING AFFECTED TO INCLUDE VCTS. BROKEN LINE OF TS WILL MOVE FROM WEST TO EAST THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...AFFECTING ALL TERMINALS. HAVE TIMED OUT TSRA BASED ON CURRENT RADAR TRENDS AND NEAR TERM GUIDANCE. DUE TO DECREASING INSTABILITY WITH TIME WILL CONTINUE WITH SHRA AND ONLY VCTS FOR MGM/TOI. CIGS WILL DROP TO MVFR WITH THE RAIN/STORMS AND THEN EVENTUALLY TO IFR IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE FRONT WHILE WINDS SHIFT TO THE NW AND THEN N. VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN TOMORROW MORNING...WITH GUSTY WINDS FROM THE NORTH. 14 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 47 64 37 67 51 / 80 0 0 10 60 ANNISTON 48 65 40 68 52 / 80 0 0 10 60 BIRMINGHAM 48 67 41 68 55 / 80 0 0 10 60 TUSCALOOSA 48 68 43 69 56 / 80 0 0 20 60 CALERA 49 68 43 70 55 / 80 0 0 10 50 AUBURN 55 69 43 69 54 / 60 10 0 10 40 MONTGOMERY 54 72 45 72 57 / 60 10 0 10 40 TROY 58 71 43 72 57 / 50 10 0 10 30 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 87/14
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 739 AM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 ALZ011>015-017>050-041545- 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- 739 AM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM LINDEN...TO ALABASTER...TO JACKSONVILLE. THE THREAT TIME WILL BE FROM 6 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT. THE PRIMARY THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT...ESPECIALLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM ALICEVILLE TO JASPER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 702 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 ALZ011-040045- MARION AL- 702 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MARION COUNTY UNTIL 745 PM CDT... AT 702 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR FAIRVIEW...OR NEAR FULTON...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. HALF INCH HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... HAMILTON...HACKLEBURG...BRINN...LAKE BUTTAHATCHEE...WESTON...BEAR CREEK...PINEY GROVE...UPPER BEAR CREEK RESERVOIR...TESSNER... SHOTTSVILLE...PIGEYE...BEXAR...PEARCES MILL AND RANKIN FITE AIRPORT. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... TORRENTIAL RAINFALL IS ALSO OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM...AND MAY LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS. FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. LIGHTNING CAN STRIKE 15 MILES AWAY FROM A THUNDERSTORM. SEEK A SAFE SHELTER INSIDE A BUILDING OR VEHICLE. THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS...FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. && LAT...LON 3431 8764 3406 8764 3414 8820 3432 8817 TIME...MOT...LOC 0002Z 286DEG 41KT 3432 8833 56
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:15 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A few trees uprooted and a shed was damaged in northwest Marion County.
Numerous trees uprooted on Single Springs Church Road.
Several trees uprooted along Highway 11 between the towns of Boligee and Eutaw.
Roof damage to a house and an outbuilding destroyed near the intersection of County Road 21 and County Road 36. Fifteen to Twenty trees uprooted or snapped in the same area.
Several trees uprooted along Black Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, April 2015
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: 573946, 573954, 573955, 573956, 573957.