A cluster of slow moving thunderstorms developed over west Alabama during the early evening hours. PWAT's were over two inches across north central Alabama and weak steering currents contributed to localized rainfall amounts of 2-3 inches across Tuscaloosa County.
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The episode as NWS BMX wrote it up.
A cluster of slow moving thunderstorms developed over west Alabama during the early evening hours. PWAT's were over two inches across north central Alabama and weak steering currents contributed to localized rainfall amounts of 2-3 inches across Tuscaloosa County.
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 Jul 7, 5:58 PM CST, 2 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 658 PM CDT Tue Jul 7 2020 .UPDATE... Evening Update and 00Z Aviation. && .SHORT TERM... /Updated at 0640 PM CDT Tue Jul 07 2020/ Surface quasi-stationary front/trough has meandered back and forth the past 24 hours and was still near TOI, aligned west to east. High surface dew points and deep column moisture remain over Central Alabama. Deep low pressure was located off to the east but Central Alabama was in an area of cyclonic flow at several levels. The best upward motion was located near the surface front and on the periphery of the cyclonic flow. Therefore, the overall lift and forcing was a tad less than yesterday and rain coverage was also a little less than yesterday. Showers and thunderstorms will remain in the forecast overnight as we experience some positive vorticity advection from the west and outflow boundary interactions. The steering flow remains very weak and convection should be rather slow moving outside any boundary influences. Isolated locations may receive an inch or two of rain while others get nothing. 75 Previous short-term discussion: /Updated at 100 PM CDT Tue Jul 07 2020/ Broad ridging aloft prevails over Mexico and east across the Gulf of Mexico and into the Northwest Caribbean Sea. Ridging in the lower levels remains over the Southwest Atlantic Basin. Toward the surface, a weak surface trough extends from South Carolina west across Central Georgia and through much of our Central Counties. Today. Scattered to broken skies are common over the area this afternoon and expect that to continue through the remainder of the afternoon. Scattered showers with isolated thunderstorm activity has been prevalent across portions of our eastern counties, generally concentrated in the vicinity of a weak surface boundary that remains draped from west to east across our central counties. The 07/12z sounding is quite moist from the surface aloft to around 500 mb yielding a total precipitable water value of 2.14 inches. The modified sounding for expected highs today in the upper 80s does produce convective available potential energy values just over 3000 J/kg, however, the lack of dry air aloft will result in a low wet microburst risk. The heavier activity today will be capable of producing torrential downpours due to the very moist environment. The very light steering flow aloft will allow activity to move quite slowly, which will pose a risk for localized flooding if heavy activity impacts the same area, particularly for low-lying, urban and poor drainage areas. Expect additional development across much of our forecast area for the rest of the afternoon. High temperatures will be in the 80s, largely governed by the coverage of shower and thunderstorm activity. Tonight. Expect Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms to gradually decrease in coverage overnight. Low clouds will persist, however, along with some reduction in visibility possible in spots that received heavy rain today. Lows will range from the upper 60s northeast to the low 70s south and west. Wednesday. An upper level disturbance will approach the area from the west overnight and move across the area during the day Wednesday. The result will be more scattered showers and thunderstorms across the area. The combination of the disturbance aloft with expected placement of the weak boundary remaining across the area is expected to focus convective development tomorrow morning across the northwest then spreading eastward through time to include most of our northern and central counties. By mid afternoon, expect scattered activity areawide. Highs will range from the lower 80s north to the upper 80s southeast. 05 .LONG TERM... /Updated at 0135 PM CDT Tue Jul 07 2020/ Wednesday night through Monday. /Daily intervals of showers & storms; opportunity for late week ~105F heat indices/ Over the coming days, the H5 pattern will feature a strengthening ridge centered over the Southwest U.S. and troughing over the East U.S. Showers and storms are expected each day, varied in coverage, given summertime PWAT values and diurnal effects. Guidance continues to show an air temperature/dew point combo that could yield heat indices matching the advisory threshold (105F) for a few hours on Friday and Saturday, barring any negating effects from convection. Given the nature of forecast soundings and environmental parameters, it appears that we'll have an opportunity for strong (potentially severe) storms later in the period. That could be from convection blossoming locally and/or MCS activity (such as the one modeled to form near the crest of the ridge/over the Plains and then moving southeastward into our state overnight Saturday/into Sunday). We'll get a bit more definitive as we get closer, as at this range details are dubious. 89^GSatterwhite && .AVIATION... 00Z TAF Discussion. Convection will remain in the forecast the entire 24 hour period, although some decrease is anticipated overnight. The lower levels of the atmosphere remain very moist and this will ultimately lead to higher rain/thunder chances, low ceilings developing overnight, and areas of reduced vis in fog. At this time, terminal forecast look very similar to last nights observations. Expect ceilings developing after 06z and becoming IFR for all but TCL. Some improvement is expect late in the morning, but any convection around may extend the cloudiness. Did not hit the vis too hard and believe the low ceilings will be the bigger impact. Winds are rather light through several thousand feet and we are near a surface front/trough. Will keep some winds westerly and others variable through the period at 7kts or less. 75 && .FIRE WEATHER... There's a daily chance for showers and storms across Central Alabama. Transport winds will run below 10 knots each day, with varied trajectories. Minimum RH values will hold well above threshold-of-concern levels. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 72 84 70 90 72 / 50 70 30 50 20 Anniston 72 84 70 90 72 / 50 70 30 50 20 Birmingham 73 84 72 91 74 / 50 70 30 40 20 Tuscaloosa 73 84 73 90 74 / 50 70 30 50 20 Calera 72 84 72 89 73 / 50 70 30 40 20 Auburn 72 84 71 88 74 / 50 70 30 50 20 Montgomery 74 86 73 91 75 / 50 70 30 50 20 Troy 73 88 73 90 74 / 40 60 30 50 20 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES/... None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Birmingham AL 302 AM CDT Tue Jul 7 2020 ALZ011>015-017>050-081115- 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- 302 AM CDT Tue Jul 7 2020 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...Wednesday through Monday. Heat index readings may reach 105 degrees Friday and Saturday afternoons, mainly across western and southern portions of Central Alabama. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Activation of storm spotters and emergency management is not expected at this time.
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:58 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rainfall produced flash flooding across the Tuscaloosa metro area. Several roads impassable across the eastern portions of the city of Tuscaloosa with a hotel on McFarland Boulevard reporting all ground floor rooms flooded.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
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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: 909899.