A strong cold front entered northwest sections of Central Alabama during the evening hours on January 29th and exited southeast sections of Central Alabama during the early morning hours on January 30th. As the front moved across the area, the pressure increased some 7 to 10 mb in a 3 hour period behind the front. This pressure change created gradient winds of 35 to 45 mph, with a few gusts over 50 mph. Trees and power lines were blown down in numerous locations. Some of the counties reporting damage included; Lamar, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, Blount, Shelby, Etowah, Tallapoosa, Lowndes, Dallas, Walker, Cherokee, St. Clair and Calhoun. Ahead of the front, high temperatures soared well above normal ranging from the middle 60's to lower 70's. As the front moved through, temperatures dropped some 20 to 25 degrees. Low temperatures ended up ranging from the middle 20's to lower 30's. The strongest winds occurred behind the front after most of the rain had ended. Figure 1 depicts the pressure gradient between high pressure on the left of the image and low presusure along the front. Surface winds blow from high pressure toward low pressure usually near parallel to the lines of equal pressure (isobars). In this case, the winds were were nearly perpendicular to the isobars indicating considerable density differences between the air masses on either side of the front. Figure 2 depicts the magnitude of the 3 hour pressure rises behind the cold front. Click the images for a larger picture. For rainfall associated with this front...click here.
Figure 1 - Pressure Gradient Image
|
Figure 2 - Pressure Change Image |
| Location |
Unofficial Maximum Wind Gust |
| Near Northport |
68 mph |
| Daniel Building in Downtown Birmingham |
65 mph |
| Shades Mountain |
63 mph |
| Cordova |
57 mph |
| Inverness |
56 mph |
| Birmingham International Airport |
55 mph |
| Attalla |
55 mph |
| Helena |
53 mph |
| Alabaster |
51 mph |
| Bear Creek |
51 mph |
| Hamilton |
51 mph |
| Nauvoo |
50 mph |
| Vance |
49 mph |
| Shelby County Airport |
48 mph |
| Troy |
47 mph |
| Springville |
45 mph |
| Maxwell Air Force Base Montgomery |
45 mph |
| Tuscaloosa |
44 mph |
| Southeast Tusclaoosa |
43 mph |
| Jasper |
43 mph |
| Clay |
43 mph |
| Crestline |
41 mph |
| Gadsden |
40 mph |
| Anniston |
40 mph |
| Odenville |
37 mph |
| Haleyville |
36 mph |
| Guin |
36 mph |
| Childersburg |
36 mph |
| Montgomery |
35 mph |
| Alexander City |
32 mph |
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1203 AM CST WED JAN 30 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0745 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG VERNON 33.76N 88.11W
01/29/2008 LAMAR AL EMERGENCY MNGR
NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN IN VERNON AND ACROSS
THE COUNTY. TREES DOWN ON TWO HOUSES.
0845 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG TUSCALOOSA 33.24N 87.54W
01/29/2008 TUSCALOOSA AL EMERGENCY MNGR
SEVERAL TREES AND NUMEROUS POWER LINES DOWN IN
TUSCALOOSA...AND NORTHWARD ACROSS THE COUNTY.
0858 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 SSE TUSCALOOSA 33.18N 87.51W
01/29/2008 M43.00 MPH TUSCALOOSA AL EMERGENCY MNGR
43 MPH GUST IN TAYLORVILLE.
0901 PM NON-TSTM WND GST TUSCALOOSA 33.24N 87.54W
01/29/2008 M39.00 MPH TUSCALOOSA AL ASOS
GUST TO 39 MPH RECORDED AT THE TUSCALOOSA AIRPORT.
0901 PM NON-TSTM WND GST NORTHPORT 33.24N 87.59W
01/29/2008 M42.00 MPH TUSCALOOSA AL EMERGENCY MNGR
WIND GUST TO 42 MPH.
0920 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG BIRMINGHAM 33.53N 86.80W
01/29/2008 JEFFERSON AL EMERGENCY MNGR
NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN IN BIRMINGHAM...AND
ACROSS MUCH OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
0920 PM NON-TSTM WND GST BIRMINGHAM 33.53N 86.80W
01/29/2008 E55.00 MPH JEFFERSON AL ASOS
55 MPH GUST RECORDED AT THE BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT
0920 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG 5 SSW LOCUST FORK 33.84N 86.65W
01/29/2008 BLOUNT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES DOWN ON RESIDENCE.
0930 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG CHELSEA 33.33N 86.64W
01/29/2008 SHELBY AL BROADCAST MEDIA
CAR RAN INTO TREES DOWN ON HIGHWAY 39. POSSIBLE INJURIES.
0935 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG 4 NE BLOUNTSVILLE 34.12N 86.54W
01/29/2008 BLOUNT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES DOWN ALONG COUNTY HWY 49 BETWEEN US 231 ANS AL 79.
0935 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG ONEONTA 33.95N 86.47W
01/29/2008 BLOUNT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES DOWN IN ONEONTA.
0940 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG BLOUNTSVILLE 34.08N 86.59W
01/29/2008 BLOUNT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES DOWN IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS COUNTYWIDE.
0940 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG 2 NW HUEYTOWN 33.46N 87.02W
01/29/2008 JEFFERSON AL FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
CONCORD FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTS TREES BLOCKING CAMP
OLIVER ROAD.
0940 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG 3 NE HAYDEN 33.93N 86.72W
01/29/2008 BLOUNT AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES REPORTED DOWN.
0945 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG COLUMBIANA 33.18N 86.60W
01/29/2008 SHELBY AL EMERGENCY MNGR
NUMEROUS REPORTS OF TREES DOWN AND SCATTERED POWER
OUTAGES COUNTY WIDE.
0955 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG GADSDEN 34.01N 86.01W
01/29/2008 ETOWAH AL EMERGENCY MNGR
NUMEROUS REPORTS OF TREES DOWN AND SCATTERED POWER
OUTAGES ACROSS THE COUNTY.
0955 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG GADSDEN 34.01N 86.01W
01/29/2008 ETOWAH AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES ACROSS THE ROAD ON VALLEY STREET IN DOWNTOWN
GADSDEN.
1050 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG ALEXANDER CITY 32.93N 85.93W
01/29/2008 TALLAPOOSA AL EMERGENCY MNGR
REPORTS OF TREES DOWN ON 2 HOUSES WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS.
1055 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG WHITE HALL 32.30N 86.71W
01/29/2008 LOWNDES AL EMERGENCY MNGR
POWER LINES DOWN AROUND CITY HALL.
1102 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG MOSSES 32.18N 86.67W
01/29/2008 LOWNDES AL EMERGENCY MNGR
NUMEROUS BRANCHES DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY...ALONG WITH
POWER OUTAGES.
1102 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG SELMA 32.42N 87.03W
01/29/2008 DALLAS AL EMERGENCY MNGR
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY. POWERLINES DOWN 1
MILE WEST OF 80W AND AL HWY 14W.
1102 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG 10 NE SELMA 32.52N 86.91W
01/29/2008 DALLAS AL EMERGENCY MNGR
SEVERAL TREES DOWN ALONG HIGHWAY 22 IN PLANTERSVILLE
BLOCKING THE ROAD
1102 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG SELMA 32.42N 87.03W
01/29/2008 DALLAS AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREE BLOCKING ROAD ON BROAD STREET IN DOWNTOWN SELMA.
TREE DOWN ON OLD MONTGOMERY HIGHWAY NEAR SELMONT
WATERWORKS.
&&
$$
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