Above normal rainfall across central Alabama significantly reduced the drought severity, but many counties along the I-20 corridor remained at or above D2 drought intensity levels.
Every event with a place to put it; 16 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
Above normal rainfall across central Alabama significantly reduced the drought severity, but many counties along the I-20 corridor remained at or above D2 drought intensity levels.
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 Dec 31, 10:56 PM CST, 1 hour 4 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 1056 PM CST Sat Dec 31 2016 .UPDATE... For 06Z Aviation. && .SHORT TERM... Through Tonight. With extensive cloud cover and rain across the area for much of the day, temperatures have struggled to warm. Currently, seeing a nonuniform range of mid 40s to lower 50s across the area. Low level winds out of the south to southeast have allowed low level moisture to gradually increase today, with dewpoints now in the upper 30s and lower 40s. Back to our west, a surface low is developing along the Texas Gulf Coast in response to an approaching front and a weak mid level impulse. Rain has become widespread across southern Alabama, southern Mississippi, and much of Louisiana. The surface low will remain weak but move to the northeast this evening, allowing the moisture axis and rainfall to spread northward tonight. Although temperatures will warm slightly overnight, it will feel cool outside as light to moderate rain falls. 14 .LONG TERM... Sunday through Friday. Sunday is looking rather wet especially across the southern and eastern counties. A continuous deep-layer fetch of southwesterly flow will be in place atop a cooler layer near the surface north of a warm front, generating isentropic lift and shower activity. The synoptic warm front should progress slowly inland Sunday afternoon into Sunday night with perhaps an effective secondary warm front near the coast associated with the remnants of convection across the northern Gulf. There is fairly good support for a quality warm sector moving inland on Monday ahead of a potent shortwave headed eastward from Texas. Temperatures will be quite cold aloft, leading to moderate amounts of instability if mid to upper 60s dewpoints move into the area. A fairly substantial severe weather threat looks likely if (and this is a big if) Gulf convection does not disrupt the wind fields across the warm sector. The close proximity of the 500mb shortwave to the Gulf Coast and the left exit region of a 300mb jet over the Central Gulf are both factors in favor of coastal convection. However, the warm front is expected to be inland by 12Z Monday which argues against the idea of widespread coastal convection. If the warm sector remains largely uncontaminated, moderate amounts of shear and CAPE would probably yield an environment favorable for supercells and tornadoes ahead of a QLCS. It seems unlikely that our low forecast confidence will get much higher until Sunday night or Monday morning, but there appears to be two distinct and opposite possible outcomes. A low confidence threat will be maintained in the HWO. Models have trended drier and colder toward the end of the week, and forecast confidence is basically zero after Wednesday. Ensemble members show a wide range of outcomes from high-impact wintry precipitation, to all rain, to totally dry conditions. The forecast has been adjusted to indicate a general trend of lower POPs, but the wintry mix across the North was kept in place Friday night for consistency with our neighbors. 87/Grantham && .AVIATION... 06Z TAF Discussion. Most of the northern sites have now dropped to IFR and will continue to slowly fall through the morning as the lower levels become saturated. Winds will remain brisk enough to limit fg potential but as clouds lower there could be some areas that may see reduced visibilities from the clouds and light to moderate rain. There may some improvement in ceilings back to MVFR through the late afternoon, but then clouds will lower once again to IFR conditions. A reminder that no amendments are scheduled for KASN through the period due to continued missing surface observations. 16 && .FIRE WEATHER... Moisture will begin to increase ahead of an approaching storm system that will lead to increased rain chances through the weekend and early next week. Conditions are not expected to meet critical fire thresholds. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 40 59 56 67 60 / 100 90 90 80 90 Anniston 44 62 60 70 62 / 100 90 90 80 90 Birmingham 49 63 60 71 61 / 100 90 90 80 90 Tuscaloosa 51 65 60 72 60 / 100 90 80 90 80 Calera 46 65 60 71 60 / 100 90 80 80 90 Auburn 42 64 61 70 62 / 100 90 90 80 90 Montgomery 51 70 62 74 63 / 100 90 70 80 90 Troy 51 70 63 72 63 / 100 90 70 80 90 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES/... None. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 442 AM CST SAT DEC 31 2016 ALZ011>015-017>050-011345- 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- 442 AM CST SAT DEC 31 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THERE IS A LIMITED RISK FOR SEVERE STORMS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA. FORECAST CONFIDENCE IS LOW, BUT STORMS MAY BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BRIEF TORNADOES AND DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 60 MPH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED BY LATE MONDAY. 08
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
16 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D3 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D3.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D3.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D3.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D3 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D4 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D3 to a D2.
Above normal rainfall helped reduce the drought intensity from a D3 to a D2.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, January 2017
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: 674846, 674847, 674848, 674849, 674850, 674851, 674852, 674853, 674854, 674855, 674856, 674857, 674858, 674859, 674860, 674861.