2014 Central Alabama Year in Review

2014 Central Alabama - The Year in Review

Table of Contents

2014 Headline Stories
Drought Conditions
Flooding, Flash Flooding, River Flooding & Precipitation
Severe Weather
Tropical Weather
Temperature Extremes

2014 Headline Stories

**Note: All of the following data should be considered preliminary. Not all of the data has been
completely quality controlled.**

Drought Conditions

2014 Ends on a an Almost Normal Note

After a prolonged drought from 2010 through the beginning of 2013, conditions across Central Alabama improved greatly with most of the area receiving above normal precipitation in the second half of 2013. Therefore, 2014 started off with a few areas Abnormally Dry to no Drought conditions at all.

Generally at or above normal precipitation continued the first half of 2014. This rainfall allowed conditions to hold with no Drought to only a few small areas that were Abnormally Dry. Below normal precipitation dominated Central Alabama for much of the second half of 2014. Subnormal precipitation persisted across the southern and western sections of the Southeast (especially the central Gulf Coast region) up until late December, while near to above normal totals had fallen on most areas to the north and east. With low rainfall amounts during the 90 days leading up to the last week of December, combined with relatively large precipitation normals, short-term deficits quickly accumulated. The greatest deficiencies were concentrated along the central Gulf Coast (southern sections of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, extreme western Florida Panhandle) where 6-12 inch deficits were found at 90-days. This deficit put parts of Central Alabama back into D1 Drought conditions while a large part of the remainder of the area was Abnormally Dry. Thankfully, there were two heavy rainfall events between Dec 23rd and Dec 29th. Rainfall totals for each event were generally in the 1-4 inch range, with some higher localized amounts. These amounts helped improve drough conditions in many areas, with only portions of Central Alabama (most notably the southeast) in Abnormally Dry status at the end of the year.

The forecast into 2015 calls for equal chances of above or below normal precipitation. If these near normal conditions do materialize, it appears the Drought conditions may improve through March.

Below are the Drought Conditions each month in 2014


January 7 2014	February 4 2014	March 4 2014

April 1 2014	May 6 2014	June 6 2014

July 1 2014	August 5 2014	September 2 2014

October 7 2014	November 4 2014	December 30 2014

Additional Drought Information can be found at the following links:

Flooding, Flash Flooding, River Flooding & Precipitation

A Mostly Normal 2014…with Most of the Significant Flooding Limited to April.

The hydrologic story for 2014 was one of generally near to below normal rainfall for much of Central Alabama, although localized areas received above normal amounts. This resulted in a relatively quiet year flood-wise, although April was an exception as above normal, widespread rainfall produced significant flooding that month. Yearly rainfall totals averaged between forty eight and sixty two inches across Central Alabama, with locally higher amounts reported.

The year began relatively quietly as near normal rainfall occurred from January through March, with only a few episodes of moderate rises noted on area rivers. However, things changed quickly in April as well above normal rainfall fell across Central Alabama and produced flooding in many areas during the month.

The most significant flooding in April occurred following widespread heavy rainfall of four to eight inches that occurred from the 5th to the 8th. This heavy rainfall produced significant to widespread flash flooding across Central Alabama on the 6th and 7th. Widespread severe flash flooding occurred in portions of Jefferson and Shelby counties, with at least 79 homes suffering flood damage in portions of Pelham, Indian Springs Village, Wilsonville, Alabaster and along Highway 119 in Shelby County. Numerous evacuations and high water rescues were necessary, with 120 water rescues required in Homewood from the Lakeshore Garden Apartments. Seventy nine luxury cars were reportedly lost from a Vestavia Hills car dealership near Patton Creek. In Greensboro in Hale County, some homes were flooded as well as in Opelika in Lee County. Many rural roads in Lamar County became flooded and impassable.

In addition to flash flooding, widespread river flooding occurred on most area rivers. Out of nineteen National Weather Service River Forecast Points, seventeen went into flood. Five of these forecast points experienced moderate flooding including the Sucarnoochee River at Livingston, the Cahaba River near Cahaba Heights, the Tombigbee River at the Demopolis Lock and Dam, Catoma Creek at the US 331 Highway Bridge near Montgomery and Village Creek at Avenue W in Ensley.


Livingston - Sucarnoochee River	Cahaba Heights - Cahaba River

US 31 Bridge - Catoma Creek	Ensley - Village Creek

Fairly normal rainfall returned to Central Alabama in May, and continued through August as typical summertime thunderstorms produced localized heavy downpours with isolated, mainly nuisance type flooding observed. September saw generally below normal rainfall across the area, and this led to the development of moderate drought across portions of Central Alabama. Despite fairly normal rainfall throughout the remainder of the fall and into the early winter season, in December, moderate drought persisted in some central portions of Central Alabama. However, heavy rainfall around and just after Christmas brought significant improvement in the drought conditions as the year ended.

PDF version can be found...Here.

Data supplied by the NWS BMX. Additional Flood Information can be found at the following links:


2014 Precipitation Totals	2014 Precipitation Extremes

Yearly Maximum Precipitation Totals	Yearly Minimum Precipitation Totals

2014 Total Rainfall	2014 Rainfall Departure


January Total Rainfall	February Total Rainfall	March Total Rainfall

April Total Rainfall	May Total Rainfall	June Total Rainfall

July Total Rainfall	August Total Rainfall	September Total Rainfall

October Total Rainfall	November Total Rainfall	December Total Rainfall