Remnants of a tropical cyclone produced numerous showers and thunderstorms over east Alabama. Some of the storms produced winds gusts of 40 to 50 mph and frequent lightning.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Remnants of a tropical cyclone produced numerous showers and thunderstorms over east Alabama. Some of the storms produced winds gusts of 40 to 50 mph and frequent lightning.
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 Jun 9, 11:08 AM CST, 1 hour 4 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 1208 PM CDT Tue Jun 9 2020 .SHORT TERM... /Updated at 0253 AM CDT Tue Jun 09 2020/ Today and tonight. A few spiraling outer convective bands continue to bring rain showers and a few rumbles of thunder to portions of northwest Central AL early this morning. Overall, Cristobal continues to move northward across AR, with a broad reservoir of muggy, tropical air across most of the Southeast. Current mesoanalysis shows PWs above 2.0" along and northwest of I-20. These are the areas I've focused PoPs through the morning hours as the system continues to exit the region. By this afternoon, insolation will act to destabilize the airmass allowing for scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms to develop. By that time, weakly confluent flow ~850 mb is progged to bring a fetch of higher PWs from the northern Gulf into the southeastern half of the area, along with 1,000-2,000 MLCAPE. A good coverage of rainfall is expected, and this is where PoPs were focused during this time. Lack of wind shear & favorable lapse rates suggests the airmass is too 'tropical' in nature to foster any problematic thunderstorms or severe weather. (We could have a few 30- 40 mph gusts in the afternoon/evening in stronger clusters, however, particularly in any areas of higher DCAPE in the southeast). The more noticable weather outside of rain-cooled areas will be warm/muggy air. Temps in the mid-upper 80s & dewpoints in the mid- upper 70s will allow for heat indices to climb well into the 90s this afternoon. Coverage/intensity of showers and thunderstorms generally wanes this evening with only isolated coverage forecast by midnight. Wednesday afternoon. There aren't a lot of differences in our overall moisture & thermodynamic environment Wed afternoon as compared to Tue afternoon. We do seem to squeeze out a slightly more robust CAPE profile Wed as temperatures aloft cool just a couple degrees in the wake of Cristobal's departing warm core circulation. Overall, boundary layer profiles remain pretty much the same, with surface temps in the mid-upper 80s and dewpoints in the mid 70s during the afternoon as showers and thunderstorms get going. A couple additions to the atmosphere will help exacerbate convective activity, however, as a shortwave ejects across the Plains, then turns northeast across the mid Mississippi River Valley and into the Ohio Valley. As a result, we don't get much in the way of dynamical forcing from this perturbation as it lifts too far north of the Deep South, though a small pick up in flow ~500 mb, as well as a brief period of mid to upper-level diffluence, will act to enhance convection Wed afternoon and evening. This all takes place in the muggy/tropical airmass already in place and ahead of an advancing surface cold front which will work its way from west to east Wed. This feature should be knocking on the door of AL by the early afternoon. All things considered, a few multicell clusters could pose a damaging wind threat Wed afternoon and early evening as cold pools aggregate, in an otherwise marginal shear environment (eff. bulk shear 15-20 kts) with 2,000-3,000 J/kg SBCAPE. Fortunately, a stubborn sub-tropical ridge to our southeast is blocking a pool of more favorable mid-level lapse rates from coming into the Deep South (warmer 850-700 mb temps can't seem to encroach into this circulation as flow vectors are coming off the Gulf in Central AL). Thus, marginal lapse rates aloft (~6 C/km per various forecast soundings) inhibit confidence of strong updrafts, though this could be overcome a tad by additional forcing. We'll also need to keep an eye on any pockets of higher DCAPE that may enhance damaging wind potential. This is lower confidence as we remain quite saturated below 600 mb on many forecast soundings. With the cold front possibly lagging behind, another band of showers and storms may get going in the evening along its axis, but I suspect they'll struggle significantly as most of the lower troposphere will be worked over from antecedent convection. Overall, the plan is to maintain the low- confidence mentioning of strong to severe wind gusts in the HWO, primarily for the eastern two thirds of the area and in the afternoon & evening. 40/Sizemore .LONG TERM... /Updated at 1200 PM CDT Tue Jun 09 2020/ Very few changes needed for the longer term forecast. After the front clears the area tomorrow afternoon, deep layer ridging is expected to build throughout much of the central CONUS for the remainder of the period. Although there is increasing concern with the backdoor trough that will develop into the Mid-Atlantic States later in the weekend. This newer trend may introduce at least a small chance of showers through next week. Left PoPs out of this period for now, but we will have to take a second look in future updates. 17/KLAWS Previous long-term discussion: /Updated at 0253 AM CDT Tue Jun 09 2020/ Wednesday night through Monday. The cold front is still sliding southeastward through Central AL Wednesday evening and through the overnight hours. Coverage of showers and thunderstorms will diminish as we go through the night, so any severe potential will become even more isolated and will likely be over by midnight as the environment becomes less favorable south and east of I-85 through the early morning hours. A drier air mass builds in Thursday behind the front. The frontal boundary itself is expected to be just south and east of Barbour County by sunrise Thursday morning, so any rain chances should be just out of our area, though we may have to re-introduce some isolated showers in Barbour County for a few hours in the morning if the forward propagation of the frontal boundary slows down. The front is expected to become stationary just to our southeast for at least the remainder of the week. High pressure builds in across the area Thursday afternoon through Friday, which will keep the area rain-free. An upper level trough digs into the Pacific NW Friday, which amplifies the ridge across the Central US, and a trough deepens over the Eastern CONUS in response. The eastern trough dips into the Appalachians Friday into Saturday, but moisture return across our area is limited, so I don't think we'll see any impacts. The stalled frontal boundary to our south could retrograde slightly as an impulse slides through the main upper trough Saturday, but confidence is low, so I'll only carry roughly 10% PoPs for the southeastern counties on Saturday afternoon for now. Otherwise, generally mild conditions expected for the second half of the week and into the weekend with morning lows in the low 60s and highs in the mid to upper 80s to near 90. Model guidance diverges Sunday through Monday in regards to the eastern trough. Both the GFS and Euro develop a cut-off upper low, but how that evolves 6-7 days out is highly uncertain. For now, I'll only carry minimal (5-10%) PoPs because even if the low does dip far enough south to provide forcing for showers, I think the moisture availability in our are will be limited due to the lack of deep southerly flow, which will likely be blocked by the previously stalled frontal boundary. 25/Owen && .AVIATION... 12Z TAF Discussion. Lingering MVFR stratus will continue to affect the aviation forecast during the day today. VFR breaks can be expected at times as we go into the afternoon hours, with high confidence of more shower and thunderstorm development in the vicinity of terminals this afternoon. Winds will be greatly diminished from yesterday but could gust upwards to 20 knots at times from the south later this afternoon. Shower and storm coverage should decrease overnight tonight with low IFR to MVFR stratus development expected once again. 56/GDG && .FIRE WEATHER... Tropical moisture persists today across Central AL as afternoon showers and thunderstorm will likely develop. A cold front moves through Wednesday, bringing another shot of thunderstorms and a shift from the southerly flow to more northerly flow. After the front moves out Wednesday night, drier weather builds in and will continue through the rest of the week. Min RHs will remain in the 40% range Thursday before dropping into the 30% range Friday and Saturday. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 71 88 62 84 60 / 40 60 30 0 0 Anniston 71 88 63 85 61 / 40 70 40 0 0 Birmingham 74 89 64 85 63 / 40 50 20 0 0 Tuscaloosa 73 90 64 85 62 / 30 50 10 0 0 Calera 73 88 64 84 62 / 40 70 30 0 0 Auburn 71 85 67 86 65 / 40 80 50 10 0 Montgomery 73 89 67 87 64 / 30 80 50 10 0 Troy 73 88 68 88 66 / 30 80 50 10 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES/... None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Birmingham AL 303 AM CDT Tue Jun 9 2020 ALZ011>015-017>050-101115- 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- 303 AM CDT Tue Jun 9 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. Strong to severe thunderstorms containing damaging wind gusts are possible on Wednesday afternoon. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Activation of storm spotters and emergency management may be needed on Wednesday. Please follow all local, state, and CDC guidelines in regards to travel.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
100 PM CDT Tue Jun 9 2020
ALZ047-091830-
Lee AL-
100 PM CDT Tue Jun 9 2020
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR EASTERN LEE COUNTY UNTIL 130 PM
CDT...
At 100 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Griffen Mill, or near Opelika, moving northeast at 20 mph.
Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Opelika, Bleecker, Beans Mill, Beulah, Beauregard and Griffen Mill.
This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio
stations and available television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
LAT...LON 3247 8533 3263 8542 3275 8523 3275 8514
3274 8512 3273 8511 3271 8512 3269 8512
3266 8509 3265 8511 3263 8509 3263 8508
3262 8509 3259 8508 3256 8504
TIME...MOT...LOC 1800Z 243DEG 18KT 3259 8530
75 LinharesSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
108 PM CDT Tue Jun 9 2020
ALZ047-048-091900-
Lee AL-Russell AL-
108 PM CDT Tue Jun 9 2020
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHEASTERN LEE AND NORTHERN
RUSSELL COUNTIES UNTIL 200 PM CDT...
At 108 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Griffen Mill, or 8 miles southwest of Smiths, moving northeast at 20
mph.
Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Phenix City, Smiths, Smiths Station, Ladonia, Monterey Heights,
Ladonia Sports Complex, Marvyn, Phenix Drag Strip and Parkmanville.
This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio
stations and available television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
LAT...LON 3235 8525 3245 8542 3256 8504 3252 8501
3250 8500 3249 8500 3248 8499 3247 8500
3245 8499 3244 8497 3243 8499
TIME...MOT...LOC 1808Z 224DEG 16KT 3247 8520
75 LinharesSpecial Weather Statement National Weather Service Birmingham AL 110 PM CDT Tue Jun 9 2020 ALZ040>042-091845- Autauga AL-Lowndes AL-Dallas AL- 110 PM CDT Tue Jun 9 2020 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWESTERN AUTAUGA... NORTHWESTERN LOWNDES AND SOUTHEASTERN DALLAS COUNTIES UNTIL 145 PM CDT... At 110 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Tyler, or 8 miles southeast of Selmont-West Selmont, moving northeast at 30 mph. Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with this storm. Locations impacted include... Selma, Selmont-West Selmont, White Hall, Benton, Mulberry, Belknap, Gardner Island, Tyler, Dallas Lake, Old Cahaba Park, Memorial Stadium, Burnsville, Dallas County Horse Arena, Skyharbor Airport, Robert F. Henry Lock And Dam, Craig Field Aiport, Selma Drag Strip, Edmund Pettus Bridge and Selma University. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... To report severe weather, contact your nearest law enforcement agency. They will relay your report to the National Weather Service office in Birmingham. && LAT...LON 3213 8696 3232 8719 3255 8687 3237 8663 TIME...MOT...LOC 1810Z 226DEG 24KT 3227 8694 75 Linhares
The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 54 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:13 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Home located on Lee Road 2087 struck by lightning with ensuing fire. Two women struck by lightning on the same road. Both survived with unknown injuries.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, June 2020
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: 903371.