Damaging Winds in Alabama, July 19 to 22, 2015

Name: Damaging Winds in Alabama, July 19 to 22, 2015
Start: 2015-07-19T14:58
End: 2015-07-22T15:07
Location: Alabama

July 19 to 22, 2015 · NWS TAE · 12 events in 4 counties and zones

Scattered afternoon thunderstorms developed in an environment favorable for severe wet microbursts with high Wet Microburst Severity Index values.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 12

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS TAE wrote it up.

Scattered afternoon thunderstorms developed in an environment favorable for severe wet microbursts with high Wet Microburst Severity Index values.

What forecasters said that day

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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 19, 1:57 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 19, 1:57 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
357 PM EDT SUN JUL 19 2015

.Near Term [Through Tonight]...
Although there is some weakening in the upper level ridge, the CWA
still remains on the eastern side of this upper level ridge through
the near term. The hot temperatures continue and this combined with
the high dewpoints have allowed for heat index values in excess of
110 this afternoon. Will continue the heat advisory into this
evening and folks outside need to exercise caution and follow heat
safety rules.

Besides the heat, SB CAPE values range from 3000-4000 J/KG across
the CWA and thus there is plenty of instability in place to allow
for severe storms this afternoon. The main threat will be damaging
wind. Overall the hi-res models persist the thunderstorms over the
land into tonight, but diminish them for the second half of tonight.
There are a few exceptions though with one hi-res model and the NAM
showing an active pattern for the second half of the night. Have
gone with consensus though and am closer to the ECAM in the PoP
trend for tonight - inland storms initially diminishing with
activity increasing along the coast and marine areas by sunrise.

.Short Term [Monday Through Tuesday Night]...
A stretch of unsettled weather is likely to begin during the short
term period with our region located in a weakness between a ridge
to the west and east. As deep layer moisture increases on Tuesday,
expect good coverage of showers and storms. Model guidance is a
bit split on how much coverage, but there is reasonable agreement
that it should be a little drier to the north. As a result, have
the highest PoP values across North Florida through the short term
period. With more widespread convection expected, should finally
see a break in the heat with temperatures returning to the lower
90s during the afternoon.

.Long Term [Wednesday Through Sunday]...
A surface trough will develop into a weak area of low pressure over
the eastern portions of our CWA on Wednesday and remain there
throughout the week. A frontal boundary will stall just north of
our CWA causing higher chances for rain this coming week. On
Saturday, the front is expected to dip south toward the Gulf coast
keeping the highest PoPs to Northern FL. With an abundance of low
level moisture, PoPs are kept on the higher side of 45-65% with
the greatest chance for showers and thunderstorms in the
afternoon. With a higher chance for convection, highs will be in
the low 90s and lows in the mid 70s.

&&

.Aviation...
[Through 18Z Monday] Thunderstorms will fill in across the area this
afternoon, with gusty winds and lower vsbys expected when storms are
directly impacting the terminals. After storms dissipate in the
evening, some patchy fog development will be possible near DHN, ABY,
and VLD in the late night-early morning hours which should dissipate
shortly after sunrise.

&&

.Marine...
Light southwesterly winds will increase to moderate levels on
Tuesday and continue through the week as a period of unsettled
conditions develop over the marine area.

&&

.Fire Weather...
Humid conditions and increasing rain chances will preclude any fire
weather concerns this week, which is typical throughout the summer.

&&

.Hydrology...
Modest rises on area rivers and streams from rainfall earlier this
week have tapered off with all locations well below action stages.
A stretch of active weather looks to be developing, starting
Monday and continuing through at least Thursday. Precipitable
water values exceed 2 inches by Tuesday, and with weak steering
flow in place, expect some storms to produce very heavy rainfall,
which could cause some localized flooding, particularly if these
heavier amounts fall in an urbanized area.

Area streamflows are slightly below normal for this time of year
across the region, especially within the main stem river systems,
suggesting there's some storage capacity to handle some heavy
rainfall. Thus, the potential for river flooding is on the low
side with this storm system.

&&

.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...

Tallahassee   76  91  76  91  77 /  40  70  30  70  30
Panama City   78  87  78  88  81 /  30  60  30  70  30
Dothan        75  94  75  95  75 /  30  50  30  60  30
Albany        76  94  76  93  74 /  30  50  30  50  20
Valdosta      75  91  75  92  75 /  40  70  30  70  30
Cross City    76  90  76  90  77 /  40  50  30  70  30
Apalachicola  78  86  79  86  80 /  30  60  30  70  30

&&

.TAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...HEAT ADVISORY until 8 PM EDT /7 PM CDT/ this evening FOR Calhoun-
     Central Walton-Coastal Bay-Coastal Dixie-Coastal Franklin-
     Coastal Gulf-Coastal Jefferson-Coastal Taylor-Coastal
     Wakulla-Gadsden-Holmes-Inland Bay-Inland Dixie-Inland
     Franklin-Inland Gulf-Inland Jefferson-Inland Taylor-Inland
     Wakulla-Jackson-Lafayette-Leon-Liberty-Madison-North Walton-
     South Walton-Washington.

     HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK until Midnight EDT tonight FOR Coastal
     Franklin.

GA...HEAT ADVISORY until 8 PM EDT this evening FOR Baker-Ben Hill-
     Berrien-Brooks-Calhoun-Clay-Colquitt-Cook-Decatur-Dougherty-
     Early-Grady-Irwin-Lanier-Lee-Lowndes-Miller-Mitchell-
     Quitman-Randolph-Seminole-Terrell-Thomas-Tift-Turner-Worth.

AL...HEAT ADVISORY until 7 PM CDT this evening FOR Coffee-Dale-Geneva-
     Henry-Houston.

GM...NONE.
&&

NEAR TERM...JLF
SHORT TERM...GODSEY
LONG TERM...CHANEY/GODSEY
AVIATION...DVD
MARINE...GODSEY
FIRE WEATHER...WESTON
HYDROLOGY...GODSEY

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 19, 1:46 PM CST, 1 hour 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
346 PM EDT SUN JUL 19 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0333 PM     TSTM WND GST     MARIANNA MUNICIPAL A/P  30.83N 85.18W
07/19/2015  M49.00 MPH       JACKSON            FL   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

            MEASURED GUST TO 43KT.

&&

GODSEY

Local storm report, Jul 19, 2:31 PM CST, 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
431 PM EDT SUN JUL 19 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0234 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 SSW EBRO              30.43N 85.88W
07/19/2015                   WASHINGTON         FL   911 CALL CENTER

            TREE DOWN ON CREWS LAKE ROAD.

&&

GODSEY

Local storm report, Jul 19, 2:47 PM CST, 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
447 PM EDT SUN JUL 19 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0353 PM     TSTM WND DMG     GREENWOOD               30.87N 85.16W
07/19/2015                   JACKSON            FL   911 CALL CENTER

            SEVERAL TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN.

&&

EWESTON

Local storm report, Jul 19, 2:48 PM CST, 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
448 PM EDT SUN JUL 19 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0330 PM     TSTM WND DMG     MALONE                  30.96N 85.16W
07/19/2015                   JACKSON            FL   911 CALL CENTER

            SEVERAL TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN.

&&

EWESTON

Local storm report, Jul 19, 2:50 PM CST, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
450 PM EDT SUN JUL 19 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0403 PM     TSTM WND DMG     MARIANNA                30.77N 85.24W
07/19/2015                   JACKSON            FL   911 CALL CENTER

            SEVERAL TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN.

&&

EWESTON

Local storm report, Jul 19, 2:51 PM CST, 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
451 PM EDT SUN JUL 19 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0353 PM     TSTM WND DMG     DELLWOOD                30.82N 85.05W
07/19/2015                   JACKSON            FL   911 CALL CENTER

            SEVERAL TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN.

&&

EWESTON

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 14 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Dale

When: July 19, 2:58 PM CST
Where: Dale County, 0.31 mi SW of Bagwells Crossroads
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.367, -85.564

A tree was blown down across U.S. Highway 231.

Thunderstorm Wind, Houston

When: July 20, 3:47 PM CST
Where: Houston County, 1 mi NE of Pearce
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 31.260, -85.208

A tree was blown down on Cedar Springs Road.

Thunderstorm Wind, Dale

When: July 21, 1:19 PM CST
Where: Dale County, 0.54 mi W of Roberts Crossroads
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.599, -85.529

A tree was blown down on County Road 33 south of County Road 68.

Thunderstorm Wind, Dale

When: July 21, 1:21 PM CST
Where: Dale County, 0.8 mi NW of Dill
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.517, -85.660

Two trees were blown down on County Road 58 near Highway 123.

Thunderstorm Wind, Henry

When: July 21, 1:45 PM CST
Where: Henry County, Shorterville
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.570, -85.100

A tree was blown down along Highway 10 East.

Thunderstorm Wind, Henry

When: July 21, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Henry County, 0.65 mi ENE of Wills Crossroads
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 31.554, -85.160

An additional tree was blown down along State Highway 10 East.

Thunderstorm Wind, Geneva

When: July 21, 3:03 PM CST
Where: Geneva County, 0.68 mi WNW of Scranton
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.195, -85.850

A tree was blown down on County Road 64.

Thunderstorm Wind, Geneva

When: July 21, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Geneva County, 1.22 mi WSW of Chancellor
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.174, -85.890

A tree was blown down on Poole Road.

Thunderstorm Wind, Geneva

When: July 21, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Geneva County, 1.41 mi N of Coffee Springs
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.180, -85.914

Two trees were blown down on County Road 13.

Thunderstorm Wind, Geneva

When: July 21, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Geneva County, Hartford
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.100, -85.690

A power line was blown down in Hartford.

Thunderstorm Wind, Geneva

When: July 21, 3:35 PM CST
Where: Geneva County, Geneva
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.030, -85.870

A power line was blown down in Geneva.

Thunderstorm Wind, Houston

When: July 22, 3:07 PM CST
Where: Houston County, 0.22 mi WSW of Ashford
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.179, -85.234

A tree was blown down at Oak Street and 7th Ave.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alabama in 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in Alabama, July 2015

Sources

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: 594843, 594844, 594845, 594846, 594848, 594849, 594850, 594851, 594852, 594853, 594855, 594856.