Abnormally dry weather across southwest Central Alabama through autumn continued into December. Although some rainfall in November lowered Marengo County from Severe (D2) to Moderate (D1) drought, drier conditions in much of December contributed to the drought severity increasing again to D2 by late month.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 across southwest Central Alabama through autumn continued into December. Although some rainfall in November lowered Marengo County from Severe (D2) to Moderate (D1) drought, drier conditions in much of December contributed to the drought severity increasing again to D2 by late month.
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 25, 10:54 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 1054 PM CST Mon Dec 25 2023 ...New SHORT TERM, AVIATION... .SHORT TERM... (Tonight through Tuesday) Issued at 1031 PM CST MON DEC 25 2023 Some drizzle/showers were still falling over far east Alabama near a stalled out low level boundary. This activity will likely continue for a few more hours. Elsewhere skies were mostly cloudy with temperatures in the lower 60s along and south of I-85 and 50s north of I-85. A secondary cold front was located over eastern Mississippi. Temperatures west of the front where in the 40s. This front will continue to slowly migrate eastward overnight. Due to the elevated levels of moisture east of the cold front, fog has developed in a few locations with visibilities below 1 mile. The fog is not widespread enough at this time for any advisory. Low clouds will linger for much of the day Tuesday, with some clearing west of I-65 in the afternoon. 58/rose Previous short-term discussion: (This afternoon through Tuesday) Issued at 1245 PM CST MON DEC 25 2023 The dominant weather feature across the nation on this Christmas Day is a large sprawling upper low over Western Kansas at midday today while shortwave ridging was over the Southeast Atlantic Coast to our east and over Southwest California well to the west. On the surface chart, a cold front extended from Lake Superior southward paralleling the Mississippi River to the west into South-Central Louisiana. A coastal low was moving east across the Western Florida Panhandle while high pressure continued to influence New England and the Mid Atlantic while a more expansive area of high pressure encompassed much of the Intermountain West and High Plains Regions. Low clouds were mover the area with showers generally near and east of the Interstate 65 corridor. This afternoon. A negatively-tilted trough aloft will continue to move further northeast of the area this afternoon and evening while the sprawling upper low remains over the Central Plains. Surface low pressure will move northeast from Northern Arkansas into the Southern Ohio River Valley for the remainder of the daylight hours while the coastal low continues to pass to our southeast across the Florida Panhandle. While the heavier rainfall has lifted further northeast in response to dynamical forcing aloft, sufficient residual moisture in the low to mid levels along with steep lapse rates will continue to favor some shower development across the central and eastern counties for the remainder of the afternoon. I have adjusted PoPs accordingly, holding onto them longer and continuing with lower PoPs a bit further west to account for potential lighter activity. Low clouds will stubbornly persist for the rest of the afternoon with southwest winds 7-14 mph and breezy at times through mid-afternoon followed by speeds from 5-10 mph due to a relaxing pressure gradient. Highs will range from the low 60s far east to readings around 70 far south. Christmas Night. The upper low will continue to spin over the Central Plains overnight while the surface low moves closer beneath this feature and becomes occluded. A cold front will move east across the area through evening, moving into Georgia after midnight while surface high pressure gradually builds into the area from the southwest. Low stratus will persist over the area overnight with a few residual showers remaining possible across the east, becoming more confined closer to the Georgia State Line after midnight. As cooler air moves in from the west, moist ground conditions from today's widespread rain will keep moisture levels high with the result being at least patchy fog across the eastern and central counties with areas of fog possible across the far east. Winds will become west to northwest overnight with speeds decreasing into the 3-5 mph range. Low temperatures will range from around 40 far northwest to the mid 50s far southeast. Tuesday. The sprawling upper low crawls east, becoming located over the Kansas City, MO area by mid afternoon while elongated surface high pressure builds further northeast into the area from the southwest. Mostly cloudy skies with some fog east in the morning will begin to give way to partly cloudy skies west through the afternoon hours. A few light showers will be possible early far east, followed by a return to dry conditions areawide. Winds will be from the northwest at 4-8 mph. Highs will range from the mid 50s far northwest to the upper 60s far southeast. 05 && .LONG TERM... (Tuesday night through next Sunday) Issued at 130 PM CST MON DEC 25 2023 Deep west-southwest flow will remain in place over Central Alabama Tuesday night as the large upper-level low moves east across the Midwest eventually evolving into a sharp positively tilted trough over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys by Thursday bringing large height falls to the region and advecting another surge of cold, continental air from the north. It will be chilly during the day on Thursday and Friday as most locations stay in the 40s for highs. A layer of low-level moisture could be enough to provide a light rain/snow mix across our far north and northeastern counties Thursday night, but surface temperatures will stay a few degrees above freezing with precip ending by Friday morning as temperatures fall to the freezing mark. The trough will move over the Western Atlantic on Saturday becoming absorbed into another upper-level trough moving southeast towards New England from Quebec. Flow will become more zonal across the Southeast this weekend with dry air encompassing much of the region as another northern stream trough rotates southeastward across the Upper Midwest. 86/Martin && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1031 PM CST MON DEC 25 2023 A wide range of flight conds across Alabama this evening. Cigs are arnd 4000 feet agl west of I-65 with MVFR cigs east of I-65. Cloud cover should be the dominate flight hazard overnight and cigs will likely become IFR at all TAF sites by 09Z. The IFR conds will remain thru 18Z, then become MVFR after 18Z. VFR conds expected along and west of I-65 by 00Z. NOTE: AMD NOT SKED at ASN due to AWOS upgrade. 58/rose && .FIRE WEATHER... Rain will diminish across the east this evening. 20ft winds have decreased back down to around 5 to 8 kts and will take on more of a westerly heading by late this afternoon as a cold front passes across the area. Min RH on Tuesday will range from 50 percent in the west to 70 percent in the east. 20ft winds become northwesterly tomorrow at 3 to 5 kts as high pressure builds into the area. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 49 60 34 58 / 20 10 10 0 Anniston 52 63 39 61 / 30 10 10 0 Birmingham 49 58 37 58 / 10 10 10 0 Tuscaloosa 46 58 35 61 / 10 10 0 0 Calera 49 59 37 60 / 10 10 0 0 Auburn 54 64 44 59 / 40 10 0 0 Montgomery 52 63 41 61 / 20 10 0 0 Troy 53 64 42 62 / 30 10 10 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...58/rose LONG TERM....86 AVIATION...58/rose
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Birmingham AL 427 AM CST Mon Dec 25 2023 ALZ011>015-017>050-261330- 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- 427 AM CST Mon Dec 25 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.
1 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought severity increased to severe (D2) in late 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: 1146287.