Abnormally dry weather from October through November for much of Central Alabama continued into December. Areas in east Alabama saw drought conditions worsen in December, with Clay and Randolph counties increasing to Severe (D2) drought.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Abnormally dry weather from October through November for much of Central Alabama continued into December. Areas in east Alabama saw drought conditions worsen in December, with Clay and Randolph counties increasing to Severe (D2) drought.
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 18, 11:00 PM CST, 1 hour earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 1100 PM CST Mon Dec 18 2023 ...New AVIATION... .SHORT TERM... (Tonight through Tuesday) Issued at 952 PM CST MON DEC 18 2023 A cold front was moving quickly southward late this evening. Surface dew points in the teens and 20s were already into the northern half of the area behind the front. Additionally, some gusty winds were in the vicinity of the front. These gust were generally in the 25 mph range. As the front sinks southward, the gusts will subside from north to south. As these winds subside, overnight lows will reach the 20s areawide. 75 Previous short-term discussion: (This afternoon through Tuesday) Issued at 1109 AM CST MON DEC 18 2023 A tight pressure gradient over the area will remain through the evening with gusty winds up to 27 mph expected in the higher elevations, with 20 mph gusts expected across the rest of the area this afternoon through the early night. Overnight tonight, the gradient will weaken with winds decreasing slowly through the night. High pressure over the lower MS River Valley will move into the southeast by Tuesday morning, with winds shifting from the north Monday night to the northeast by Tuesday. Plenty of cold air advection will take place from these northerly winds with high temps today in the 50s, dropping to the mid 40s in the north to the lower 50s in the south for Tuesday. Monday night, lows will be in the lower 20s in the north to the upper 20s in the south. With the gradient weakening, but breezy winds present, wind chill values by sunrise Tuesday morning will be in the mid to upper teens across the area. 24 && .LONG TERM... (Tuesday night through next Sunday) Issued at 307 PM CST MON DEC 18 2023 No big changes in the long term portion of the forecast. Once again, the most active period appears to arrive over the (holiday) weekend. Upper level pattern remains progressive and quite active, which is not surprising given the El Nino conditions. Conditions will remain dry here through the end of the week, with an upper level ridge and surface high pressure in the Tuesday-Thursday time frame. A fast moving shortwave trough zips through Friday and Friday night, but there's really no time for moisture return. So, just an increase in cloudiness, but little/no chance of rain. A digging upper level trough between the Rockies and the Mississippi River will start to change things over the weekend. Low level winds will come around more to the southeast and start to tap into some Gulf moisture, while isentropic lift kicks in above the surface. The result will be a gradual moistening of the entire column, leading to likely rain chances by the time we get to Sunday night and Monday (aka Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). At this point, we still don't see any strong evidence of substantial instability (thus, thunderstorms unlikely), nor of sub-freezing conditions (thus, no wintry precipitation) during this time. /61/ && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1057 PM CST MON DEC 18 2023 VFR and clear skies will prevail over central Alabama this period. The main concern will be the wind in the first 6 hours. Surface winds will be northwest to north around 10kts and gusting near 20kts. These surface wind gusts are mainly located in the vicinity of the cold front near MGM. These gusts will slowly subside over the next few hours as the overall higher gradient slides east and south. Winds at 020 will be around 35kt the next few hours, but should also subside. These winds will be just below any mention of LLWS. Winds on Tuesday will be northerly at 6-8kts. The atmosphere stays very dry and the clouds to our north will remain to the northeast of the area, so clear skies dominate. NOTE: AMD NOT SKED at ASN due to AWOS upgrade. 75 && .FIRE WEATHER... A drier air mass will be in place through the work week. Afternoon minimum RHs in the upper 20s to lower 30s are forecast Tuesday through Thursday. If dew points trend a tad lower, RHs could fall into the lower 20s for some locations. Transport winds and 20 ft winds both remain below 10kts Tuesday and Wednesday. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 21 46 22 52 / 0 0 0 0 Anniston 23 47 25 55 / 0 0 0 0 Birmingham 25 47 29 53 / 0 0 0 0 Tuscaloosa 26 49 29 56 / 0 0 0 0 Calera 25 48 29 55 / 0 0 0 0 Auburn 27 47 30 52 / 0 0 0 0 Montgomery 28 49 29 54 / 0 0 0 0 Troy 30 50 30 55 / 0 0 0 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...75 LONG TERM..../61/ AVIATION...75
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Birmingham AL 232 AM CST Mon Dec 18 2023 ALZ011>015-017>050-191145- 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- 232 AM CST Mon Dec 18 2023 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.
2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought severity increased to severe (D2) in mid-December.
Drought severity increased to severe (D2) in mid-December.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, December 2023
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: 1146285, 1146286.