Drought conditions expanded across southeastern Central Alabama following modest rainfall during January.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
Drought conditions expanded across southeastern Central Alabama following modest rainfall during January.
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 Jan 12, 11:41 PM CST, 19 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 1141 PM CST Mon Jan 12 2026 ...New DISCUSSION, AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1135 PM CST MON JAN 12 2026 - Cooler temperatures are expected this week, especially from Thursday into the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... (Through next Monday) Issued at 1135 PM CST MON JAN 12 2026 Cool and dry weather is expected again today as the ridging across the region begins to break down. A deep trough is expected to slide southward into the Deep South on Wednesday. Just ahead of this trough, an embedded shortwave ejects through TX/LA and pushes through the Gulf States. Both the shortwave and the main trough will lead to increased rain chances for Central AL Wednesday through Wednesday night. As the precip moves through, temperatures should be well above freezing. The moisture is expected to move south and east of our area before the temperatures take a sharp drop early Thursday morning. The forecast will keep all precip as liquid, though there's a very low chance (<5%) of a few flurries across the northern counties around or just after midnight Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Thursday will be noticeably cold all day with highs only reaching into the mid 30s to upper 40s. A few of our colder locations may not get above freezing. Wind chills will be in the upper 20s to low 30s for much of the day. Rain free conditions are expected Thursday through the weekend and into early next week as high pressure builds through the region. There's another trough that quickly moves through Saturday into Sunday, but guidance continues to show little precipitation with that system. Several runs of deterministic guidance try to show winter precip with this secondary trough, but ensembles paint a different story, keeping the probability of any winter precip at <10%. We'll keep monitoring this system for any changes, but will not include winter weather in the forecast at this time. 25/Owen && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1135 PM CST MON JAN 12 2026 VFR conditions expected through the next 24 hours with generally light westerly to southwesterly winds. 25/Owen && .FIRE WEATHER... Dry conditions are expected again today with MinRHs in the 20-35% range, especially across the southeastern counties. Westerly to southwesterly winds should remain light at around 3-5 mph. Increasing moisture is expected Wednesday as another front moves through the region with low to medium chances for rain. After that, dry conditions will return Thursday through Friday with RHs dropping into the 20-35% range again. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 25 57 36 54 / 0 0 0 40 Anniston 27 57 37 55 / 0 0 0 30 Birmingham 30 56 41 54 / 0 0 0 40 Tuscaloosa 29 58 39 55 / 0 0 10 30 Calera 29 58 38 55 / 0 0 10 30 Auburn 32 58 40 56 / 0 0 10 20 Montgomery 28 57 38 59 / 0 0 10 20 Troy 29 58 38 59 / 0 0 20 20 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && DISCUSSION...25/Owen AVIATION...25/Owen
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
603 PM CST Mon Jan 12 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0648 AM Tornado 4 SSW Oak Level 33.80N 85.49W
01/10/2026 Cleburne AL NWS Storm Survey
An EF-0 tornado with max winds near 80 mph
and a path length around 7.40 miles was
confirmed in northern Cleburne County, AL.
&&
GMSThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Southeastern Lowndes County was upgraded to Severe (D2) drought during the second week of January, which persisted through the end of the month.
Pike County was upgraded to Severe (D2) drought during the second week of January, which persisted through the end of the month.
Barbour County was upgraded to Severe (D2) drought during the second week of January, which persisted through the end of the month.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, January 2026
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: 1302374, 1302375, 1302376.