Above normal temperatures and a lack of rainfall brought severe to extreme drought conditions to portions of central Alabama in September.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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 temperatures and a lack of rainfall brought severe to extreme drought conditions to portions of central Alabama in September.
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 Sep 23, 9:57 PM CST, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 1057 PM CDT Mon Sep 23 2019 .UPDATE... For 06Z Aviation. && .SHORT TERM... /Updated at 0155 PM CDT Mon Sep 23 2019/ Through Tonight. A pre-frontal band of showers has developed across northern Mississippi and extreme northwest Alabama. Low bulk shear values and weak mid level lapse rates was hindering organization and intensity of convective activity. PWAT's were still around 1 inch or less across central Alabama, so current activity will move into an environment not conducive for development. Model consensus is for activity to erode this evening, and continued low rain chances for areas north of I-59. The front will pass through north Alabama overnight and bring slightly cooler air to the far northwest counties, but cloud cover will limit cooling elsewhere. 58/rose .LONG TERM... /Updated at 0155 PM CDT Mon Sep 23 2019/ Tuesday and Wednesday. The mid-level ridge will situate along the northern Gulf of Mexico Tuesday and flatten as zonal westerly flow becomes more prevalent across the forecast area on Wednesday. The cold front associated with the trough over eastern Canada will stall briefly across our southern counties with the low-level moisture axis still present along and ahead of the boundary. Additional showers and isolated storms may develop Tuesday afternoon across the far south where the stalled front may produce enough lift for scattered development. Still not expecting much coverage due to the dry mid-level airmass and ridging aloft. Highs will be in the upper 80s north of the front while a bit warmer, in the low 90s, across the south. On Wednesday, the front begins to lift northeast. An isolated shower or thunderstorm may be possible across the west and spread eastward during the day as the boundary begins to lift northward, but not expecting much development as the boundary becomes more diffuse and the overall zonal flow pattern remain in place. Temperatures will be on the rise as warm air advection increases across the forecast area with highs in the mid 90s for Wednesday. 86 .LONG TERM... /Updated at 0347 AM CDT Mon Sep 23 2019/ Thursday through Sunday. The cold front should stall out north of the area as it becomes parallel to the westerly flow and additional waves of low pressure develop over the Plains. Moisture levels may be trending upward slightly for Thursday/Friday afternoon, but chances of an isolated shower/storm are only around 10 percent for now, mainly for orographic effects in the northeast counties. The warming trend continues with highs in the mid to upper 90s. Record highs will be in jeopardy; see the climate section for more details. There will be a little bit of humidity with southerly winds developing by Friday, allowing heat indices to approach 100F in the southern counties. Amplified western trough/eastern ridge pattern is still on track to be in place for the weekend. Anomalous 595 decameter heights at 500 mb and ongoing drought will continue to support potential for record highs. Only limiting factor will be the potential for easterly flow to develop across our eastern counties by Sunday depending on the exact placement of the low and mid- level ridges. 32/Davis && .AVIATION... 06Z TAF Discussion. A weak front will move through the area Tuesday, providing just enough lift for a few showers across south Central Alabama. Will maintain VCSH at MGM and TOI Tuesday afternoon as rain chances are less than 30 percent. A band of broken to overcast mid level clouds is moving southward, but with heights between 5-10kft, no impacts to aviation are expected. Calm winds overnight will increase from the northwest by mid to late morning, with speeds of 6-7kts. 14 && .FIRE WEATHER... A cool front will bring isolated to scattered showers and a few thunderstorms to northwestern portions of Central Alabama this evening, and southern portions of Central Alabama Tuesday afternoon. Afternoon relative humidity values will drop into the mid 30s across the far northern portions of Central Alabama Tuesday afternoon. These low humidity values and high KBDI values will result in continued elevated fire danger, but with light winds red flag conditions are not expected. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 68 90 59 93 67 / 20 10 0 10 10 Anniston 69 90 61 93 67 / 10 10 0 10 10 Birmingham 70 90 65 93 70 / 20 10 10 10 10 Tuscaloosa 71 91 66 93 71 / 10 10 10 10 10 Calera 70 91 64 94 69 / 10 10 10 10 10 Auburn 69 89 66 91 69 / 10 20 10 0 0 Montgomery 70 94 67 95 71 / 0 20 10 10 10 Troy 67 93 68 94 69 / 0 20 10 10 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES/... None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Birmingham AL 424 AM CDT Mon Sep 23 2019 ALZ011>015-017>050-241230- 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- 424 AM CDT Mon Sep 23 2019 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...Tuesday through Sunday. 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 national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Above normal temperatures and rainfall totals less than one-half of an inch increased the drought intensity across Chilton County to severe category (D2).
Above normal temperatures and rainfall totals less than one-quarter of an inch increased the drought intensity across Clay County to extreme category (D3).
Above normal temperatures and rainfall totals less than one-tenth of an inch increased the drought intensity across Tallapoosa County to extreme category (D3).
Above normal temperatures and rainfall totals less than one-half of an inch increased the drought intensity across eastern Coosa County to extreme category (D3).
Above normal temperatures and rainfall totals less than one-tenth of an inch increased the drought intensity across northern Elmore County to severe category (D2).
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, September 2019
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: 856146, 856147, 856149, 856150, 856151.