A strong short wave trough passed to the north of Alabama during the afternoon heating and triggered a line of showers and isolated thunderstorms. Dry low level conditions and steep mid level lapse rates produced conditions favorable for low topped convection with strong winds due to evaporative cooling.
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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 strong short wave trough passed to the north of Alabama during the afternoon heating and triggered a line of showers and isolated thunderstorms. Dry low level conditions and steep mid level lapse rates produced conditions favorable for low topped convection with strong winds due to evaporative cooling.
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 Jan 25, 2:57 PM CST, 2 hours 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 257 PM CST SUN JAN 25 2015 .DISCUSSION... STRONG SHORTWAVE APPROACHING THIS AFTERNOON FROM THE NORTHWEST WITH SOME CLOUDS AND A FEW SHOWERS. TEMPERATURES WARMED UP NICELY THIS AFTERNOON WITH BREEZY SOUTHERLY WINDS. MOST LOCATIONS ARE IN THE 60S. EXPECTING SOME SCATTERED CONVECTION EARLY THIS EVENING ACROSS THE NORTH AND CANNOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED LIGHTNING STRIKE BUT THAT POTENTIAL SEEMS PRETTY LOW AT THIS TIME. STILL NOT SEEING ANY REASON TO INCLUDE WINTRY WEATHER FOR OUR AREA AS THE PROFILES ARE TOO WARM NEARER TO THE SURFACE. THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST WILL FEATURE A CONTINUED RATHER PROGRESSIVE UPPER LEVEL FLOW WITH SEVERAL MORE SYSTEMS TEASING US TO THE NORTH. THE 12Z EURO SEEMS TO LIKE THE WAVE THURSDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING MORE THAN SOME OF THE OTHER MODELS. FEEL ITS WORTH A SLIGHT INCREASE IN POPS BUT FORECAST CONFIDENCE IS STILL PRETTY LOW. NOTHING UNUSUAL ABOUT THE TEMPERATURES THE NEXT 7 DAYS. 88 && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF DISCUSSION. VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE AFTERNOON WITH ONLY SOME SCT MID LEVEL CLOUDS AND SOME CU AT BEST. BETTER MOISTURE MOVES IN TONIGHT ALONG AND AHEAD OF A BOUNDARY. LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT ACROSS THE NORTHERN TAFS. MOISTURE MAY NOT BE ENOUGH AT MGM/TOI WITH A LOW PROBABILITY OF RAIN...SO WILL LEAVE OUT FOR NOW. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO STAY UP THIS AFTERNOON...SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST FOR MONDAY. MVFR CIGS EXPECTED FOR LATE NIGHT POSSIBLY SOME WITH THE -RA BUT NOT AS CONFIDENT EARLY ON...SO WILL INCLUDE ONLY SCT LOW CLOUDS EARLY ON IN THE NIGHT. 08/MK && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 38 43 30 50 29 / 40 10 0 0 0 ANNISTON 39 44 32 53 30 / 40 10 0 0 0 BIRMINGHAM 39 45 34 55 32 / 40 10 0 0 0 TUSCALOOSA 40 48 35 58 34 / 20 10 0 0 0 CALERA 39 46 35 55 33 / 30 10 0 0 0 AUBURN 39 47 34 55 33 / 10 10 0 0 0 MONTGOMERY 41 50 35 60 34 / 10 10 0 0 0 TROY 41 51 35 60 35 / 10 10 0 0 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1209 PM CST SUN JAN 25 2015 ALZ011>015-017>050-261815- 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- 1209 PM CST SUN JAN 25 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. 08/MK
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:31 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Several uprooted trees between the cities of Samantha and Coker.
Wind gust at the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport.
Wind gust at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.
A tree uprooted along Highway 25 near County Road 41.
Several trees uprooted near the intersection of Highway 16 and Faith Lane.
A Subway sandwich shop sign was heavily damaged.
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, January 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: 556884, 556885, 556886, 556888, 556887, 556889.