Worsening drought conditions continued into early May across Central Alabama. Following a severe weather event on May 6-7 in which 3 to 5 inches of rain fell across southern counties of Central Alabama, conditions began to slowly improve.
Every event with a place to put it; 33 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.
Worsening drought conditions continued into early May across Central Alabama. Following a severe weather event on May 6-7 in which 3 to 5 inches of rain fell across southern counties of Central Alabama, conditions began to slowly improve. A pattern change came by mid-May as ridging retreated off the East Coast and a persistent troughing setup over the Central U.S. served to return moist southerly flow to Alabama. With it, rainfall increased drastically across the region, and drought conditions improved 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 Apr 30, 11:29 PM CST, 31 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 1229 AM CDT Fri May 1 2026 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Issued at 1229 AM CDT FRI MAY 1 2026 - A medium chance for showers are forecast overnight through Saturday morning with better potential south. - A medium chance for below average temperatures with dry conditions returning Sunday through the early in the day on Tuesday. - A low to medium chance for showers and some thunderstorm activity Tuesday night into Wednesday as another storm system moves into the area. && .DISCUSSION... (Friday through next Thursday) Issued at 1119 PM CDT THU APR 30 2026 A zonal flow pattern will persist over the area through the rest of the work week and into the first half of the weekend while several disturbances aloft move east over the area. A stationary front will remain to our south across the Northern Gulf Coast, resulting in showers being most likely with low chances for thunderstorm activity only across the southern portion of the area from late Friday night into early Saturday. A longwave trough in the northern stream will move southeast over the Ohio and Tennessee Valley regions during the day on Saturday with surface high pressure building into the area during the afternoon and evening hours with drier and cooler conditions forecast with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. The pattern aloft will deamplify to start the next work week with near zonal flow expected. Dry conditions will persist through Monday night while temperatures moderate through midweek with highs returning to near 80 and overnight lows in the 60s by Wednesday. An upper low will move east over the Desert Southwest on Wednesday and approach from the west while the northern stream becomes more amplified again with a longwave trough digging southeast over the Ohio and Tennessee Valley regions on Thursday. Expect increasing clouds with a low to medium chance for showers and some thunderstorm activity during the day Tuesday and persisting through Thursday. 05 && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1229 AM CDT FRI MAY 1 2026 An area of light to moderate rain is currently moving west to east across the southern portions of Central AL. This is expected to impact MGM and AUO over the next few hours and will temporarily lead to lower ceilings and reduced visibility. Given the light nature of the rain, this should remain in MVFR criteria. Northern sites will remain VFR the period as any rain should stay to the south. However, late in the period, a system will move through leading to widespread rain. There's high confidence (greater than 70%) for rain to impact all sites as we approach 06z. MGM and AUO will see the rain move in first (as early as 00z) as it lifts northeastward through the area. The rain shield is expected to cover all of Central AL by 03-06z and will continue into the next period. This second round of rain will drop most sites to IFR ceilings at some point as we approach 06z. There's a low chance (less than 30%) for a few sites to drop to LIFR in the heavier rain showers. Confidence isn't high enough to include LIFR in any TAFs at this point. AMD NOT SKED will continue for TCL due to intermittent observations. 25/Owen && .FIRE WEATHER... Medium chances for showers with best potential across the southern portion of the area is forecast overnight through Saturday. Drier conditions return again for Sunday through Tuesday with RH minimums in the mid to upper 30 percent range by Sunday afternoon and again Monday afternoon. The next storm system will return Tuesday night into Wednesday with low to medium chances for showers and some thunderstorms. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 70 47 67 40 / 20 80 30 0 Anniston 70 48 66 42 / 30 90 40 0 Birmingham 70 50 67 45 / 40 90 30 0 Tuscaloosa 68 49 70 44 / 60 90 20 0 Calera 70 49 69 44 / 50 90 30 0 Auburn 69 52 66 46 / 70 100 70 0 Montgomery 67 51 68 43 / 80 100 50 0 Troy 67 50 67 43 / 80 100 60 0 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && DISCUSSION...05 AVIATION...25/Owen
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
33 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Barbour County remained in Extreme (D3) drought for most of May before improving to Severe (D2) by late month.
Pike County remained in Extreme (D3) drought for most of May before improving to Severe (D2) by late month.
Russell County began May in Extreme (D3) drought, which improved to Severe (D2) county-wide by late month.
Lee County began May in Extreme (D3) drought, which improved to Severe (D2) county-wide by mid month.
Macon County began May in Extreme (D3) drought, which improved to Severe (D2) county-wide by mid month.
Montgomery County began May in Extreme (D3) drought, which improved to Severe (D2) county-wide by late month.
Lowndes County began May in Extreme (D3) drought, which improved to Severe (D2) county-wide by late month.
Chambers County began May with Severe (D2) drought across most of the county, with Extreme (D3) conditions across the southern quarter. D3 was removed mid-month, with D2 persisting throughout May.
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted across Randolph County throughout May.
Tallapoosa County began May with most of the county in Severe (D2) drought, while the far southern section was in Extreme (D3) drought. D3 conditions were removed mid-month, while D2 conditions were reduced to just the eastern and southern portions of the county by late month.
Elmore County began May in Severe (D2) drought, with the southern third in Extreme (D3) drought. D3 was removed and D2 was reduced to the southern half of the county by mid-month.
Autauga County began May with most of the county in Extreme (D3) drought conditions. D3 was removed by mid-month, and Severe (D2) was reduced to just the southeastern half by late month.
The northeastern half of Clay County began May in Severe (D2) drought, which persisted throughout the month.
Cleburne County began May in Severe (D2) drought, which was reduced to just the southern and eastern portions by late month.
Pickens County began May with most of the county in Extreme (D3) drought conditions. D3 conditions were removed early in the month, while Severe (D2) conditions were removed by late month.
Tuscaloosa County began May with the southern half of the county in Extreme (D3) drought conditions, while Severe (D2) conditions were ongoing across northern areas. D3 conditions were removed early in the month, while Severe (D2) conditions were removed by late month.
Bibb County began May in Extreme (D3) drought conditions. D3 conditions were removed by mid-month, while Severe (D2) conditions were removed by late month.
Sumter County began May with Extreme (D3) drought conditions across the northern three quarters. D3 conditions were removed by mid-month, while Severe (D2) conditions were removed by late month.
Greene County began May in Extreme (D3) drought conditions. D3 conditions were removed by mid-month, while Severe (D2) conditions were removed by late month.
Hale County began May in Extreme (D3) drought conditions. D3 conditions were removed by mid-month, while Severe (D2) conditions were removed by late month.
Perry County began May with most of the county in Extreme (D3) drought conditions. D3 conditions were removed by mid-month, while Severe (D2) conditions were removed by late month.
Marengo County began May primarily in Severe (D2) drought conditions, with far northwestern and southern portions of the county in Extreme (D3) drought. D3 conditions were removed by mid-month, while D2 conditions were removed by late month.
Dallas County began May with Extreme (D3) drought across the eastern half, with Severe (D2) conditions across the western half. D3 conditions were removed by mid-month, while D2 conditions were removed by late month.
Chilton County began May with Extreme (D3) drought across the western half, with Severe (D2) conditions across the eastern half. D3 conditions were removed early in the month, while D2 conditions were removed by late month.
Calhoun County began May in Severe (D2) drought conditions, which improved to Moderate (D1) by late month.
Cherokee County began May in Severe (D2) drought conditions, which improved to Moderate (D1) by late month.
Etowah County began May in Severe (D2) drought conditions, which improved until D2 was removed completely by late month.
Marion County began May in Severe (D2) drought, which was removed during the first week of the month.
Winston County began May in Severe (D2) drought, which was removed during the first week of the month.
Blount County began May with the northern half in Severe (D2) drought, which was removed during the first week of the month.
Lamar County began May with the southern half in Severe (D2) drought, which was removed during the first week of the month.
Coosa County began May with the southern half in Severe (D2) drought, which was removed during the first week of the month.
Bullock County remained in Extreme (D3) drought for most of May before improving to Severe (D2) by late 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, May 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: 1329076, 1329077, 1329078, 1329079, 1329080, 1329081, 1329082, 1329083, 1329084, 1329085, 1329086, 1329087, 1329088, 1329089, 1329090, 1329091, 1329092, 1329093, 1329094, 1329095, 1329096, 1329097, 1329098, 1329099, 1329100, 1329101, 1329102, 1329103, 1329104, 1329105, 1329106, 1329107, 1329108.