A quasi-stationary front split Alabama in half. A short wave trough moving eastward across the Ohio Valley States region produced a line of convection as far south as Mobile, Alabama.
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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 quasi-stationary front split Alabama in half. A short wave trough moving eastward across the Ohio Valley States region produced a line of convection as far south as Mobile, Alabama. This line of thunderstorms produced a few reports of large hail and damaging winds across portions of west central Alabama.
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 May 20, 11:28 AM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1228 PM CDT WED MAY 20 2015 .UPDATE... FOR 18Z AVIATION. && .DISCUSSION... FORECAST LOOKS TO BE ON TRACK SO NOT ANTICIPATING MANY CHANGES. WATCHING THE CONVECTION OVER MISSISSIPPI AS THE HRRR DEVELOPS SCATTERED TO LIKELY TYPE COVERAGE LATER THIS AFTERNOON AS A SHORTWAVE PROGRESSES EASTWARD. FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW MODEST INSTABILITY BUT WEAK SHEAR. TIMING IS RIGHT...MID TO LATE AFTERNOON...SO SCATTERED CONVECTION SEEMS VERY REASONABLE. MAY END UP INCREASING THE POPS TO HAVE SCATTERED EVERYWHERE. HIGHS IN THE 80S AND VERY MUGGY WITH DEWPOINTS CURRENTLY RANGING FROM 65 TO 70 MOST LOCATIONS. 88 && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF DISCUSSION. SHRA AND TSRA CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST ACROSS MS AND SHOULD BEGIN SPREADING INTO WESTERN AL BY 20Z. WILL CARRY VCTS IN TAFS THIS AFTN EXCEPT FOR TCL WHERE TEMPO GROUP WILL BE SHOWN SINCE THIS APPEARS TO BE MOST LIKELY SITE TO EXPERIENCE A TSRA AT THIS TIME. CAN EXPECT UPDATES AS AREAS OF TSRA DEVELOPMENT BECOME MORE CLEAR THIS AFTERNOON. BELIEVE MOST OF TSRA ACTIVITY WILL PLAY OUT EARLY THIS EVE BUT CAN'T RULE OUT POSSIBILITY SOME COULD CONTINUE OVERNIGHT AS FRONT MOVES INTO AREA...JUST AM NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO INCLUDE THEM IN THE TAFS. OTHERWISE EXPECT GENERALLY VFR CONDITIONS TO PREVAIL UNTIL THE EARLY MORNING HOURS WHEN LOW CLOUDS AND PATCHY FOG EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AGAIN. CIGS WILL GRADUALLY IMPROVE AFTER 14Z BUT EXPECT MVFR CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE FCST PERIOD. 41 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 645 AM CDT WED MAY 20 2015/ AN INTERESTING FORECAST IS ON TAP FOR THE DAY TODAY ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA WITH A STALLED SURFACE FRONT CURRENTLY SPLITTING THE CWA. DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER 60S ARE CURRENTLY OBSERVED IN NORTH ALABAMA...WHILE MOSTLY MID TO UPPER 60S ARE PRESENT ACROSS THE SOUTH. THIS FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL REMAIN THE FOCUS FOR SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT LATER ON THIS AFTERNOON. LOOKING BACK TO OUR WEST...LARGE CLUSTERS OF SHOWERS AND STORMS HAVE DEVELOPED ASSOCIATED WITH A SURFACE LOW MOVING ACROSS CENTRAL OKLAHOMA. WHERE THESE STORMS TRACK WILL DICTATE HOW WIDESPREAD CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND DURING THE EARLY EVENING. ALL INDICATIONS CURRENTLY ARE THAT THE SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK EASTWARD TO EAST- SOUTHEASTWARD FOLLOWING THE ASSOCIATED UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE. THE STALLED BOUNDARY SHOULD ALSO ACT AS A SECONDARY LIFTING MECHANISM AT THE SURFACE. WITH ALL THIS IN MIND...THERE ARE STILL SOME UNCERTAINTIES IN HOW WIDESPREAD DEVELOPMENT WILL BE ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA BY THE TIME THE MAIN THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX APPROACHES OUR NORTHWEST COUNTIES. THEREFORE...HAVE GONE WITH HIGH CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE NORTHWEST AT THIS TIME BUT WE MAY NEED TO GO LIKELY OR HIGHER BASED ON THE LATEST HI-RES GUIDANCE TRENDS LATER THIS MORNING. WE'LL DEFINITELY SEE SCATTERED CONVECTION DEVELOP OUT AHEAD OF THE MAIN COMPLEX OF STORMS THAT WILL BE OUT AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT THAT WILL FINALLY BEGIN THE SOUTHWARD PUSH INTO WESTERN TENNESSEE AND NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI THIS EVENING. THE QUESTION WILL BE IF THE THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX DEVELOPS A COLD POOL BOUNDARY AND IS ABLE TO HOLD TOGETHER LONG ENOUGH TO WARRANT HIGHER THUNDERSTORM CHANCES. LOOKING AT THE MESOSCALE ENVIRONMENT THAT WILL BE PRESENT AHEAD OF THE STORMS TODAY...WE COULD CERTAINLY BE LOOKING AT STRONG STORM FORMATION. CAPE VALUES OF 1500-2000 J/KG AND ENOUGH 0-6KM BULK SPEED SHEAR (25 TO 30 KTS) TO SUSTAIN UPDRAFTS WILL BE PRESENT ESPECIALLY ACROSS OUR NORTHWESTERN TIER OF COUNTIES. FORECAST SOUNDINGS ALSO INDICATE DRY AIR PRESENT IN THE MID-LEVELS WHICH INCREASES THE POSSIBILITY OF GUSTY WINDS BEING TRANSPORTED TO THE SURFACE WITHIN THUNDERSTORM DOWNDRAFTS. HAVE NOT INCLUDED ANY HAZARDS IN THE HWO THIS MORNING DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTIES IN HOW ORGANIZED CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE AND THE OVERALL COVERAGE. DEVELOPMENT ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE STATE WILL BE PULSE-LIKE IN NATURE WITH THE BEST SHEAR ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER SHORTWAVE PASSING WELL OFF TO THE NORTH OF CENTRAL ALABAMA. THE FRONT WILL FINALLY PUSH ALL THE WAY THROUGH CENTRAL ALABAMA ON THURSDAY...FILTERING DRIER AIR TO THE GULF COAST. LOWER HUMIDITY VALUES CAN BE EXPECTED FRIDAY AFTERNOON AS DEWPOINTS DROP DOWN INTO THE 50S AND LOWER 60S. THAT DRY AIRMASS WILL SLOWLY BE ERODED OVER TIME AS WE GO INTO THE WEEKEND WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SURFACE RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC. SOUTHERLY SURFACE FLOW SHOULD RETURN BY SUNDAY WITH AFTERNOON CONVECTION EXPECTED TO DEVELOP DURING THE PEAK HEATING OF THE DAY. TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO GO UP AS AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE STRENGTHENS OFF THE FLORIDA COASTLINE AND BUILDS WESTWARD. THE UPPER RIDGE THEN APPEARS TO BREAK DOWN A BIT BY THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD...WHICH COULD INCREASE RAIN CHANCES AS UPPER DISTURBANCES TRAVERSE AROUND THE WESTERN PERIPHERY OF THE RIDGE. 56/GDG && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1016 AM CDT WED MAY 20 2015 ALZ011>015-017>050-211830- 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- 1016 AM CDT WED MAY 20 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...OUTLOOK THROUGH TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .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 Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:16 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees uprooted and power lines downed near the intersection of County Road 14 and County Road 60.
Hail up to the size of half dollars fell in the town of Walden Quarters.
Several trees uprooted and power lines downed along County Road 11.
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, May 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: 579180, 579182, 581330.