2006 Weather Year in Review

Severe Thunderstorms can occur in any month and 2006 was no different. The first tornado occurred on January 13th in Barbour County. Although this was an isolated tornado occurrence, it produced damage in northwest Barbour County and one person was injured as the tornado crossed US Highway 82.

The Spring Severe Weather Season was fairly active in 2006. Straight line wind gusts of 60 to 85 mph, quarter or larger size hail and/or tornadoes were generated on March 9th, March 13th, March 20th, April 7th/8th and on May 10th. An unusual occurrence of softball size hail was reported on April 21st in Walker County. Perhaps the most active 24 hour period occurred the evening of April 7th and continued into the early morning hours of April 8th. Several supercell thunderstorms produced damage in Central Alabama. Six tornadoes touched down, numerous areas were covered with hail and many structures and trees were damaged by high winds.

On November 15th, eight tornadoes along with severe wind gusts caused damage across South Central Alabama. An F2 tornado touched down in Montgomery which produced extensive damage to the post office and the Fun Zone Skating Rink. Many homes sustained roof damage and a few apartment complexes suffered damage. Another F2 dropped down near Hamilton Crossroads in Pike County. A large water tower was destroyed and numerous structures suffered significant damage.

On November 30th, four tornadoes touched down in Marengo and Hale Counties. These tornadoes were produced from a line of moderate showers. These showers were absent of lightning which would typically be present during tornado formation.

An unusual event happened in Winston County on July 24th. A dust devil caused damage to several structures near Haleyville. Dust devils form in hot, fair and dry conditions when the air in contact with the ground heats up much more than the air immediately above it. The air rises quickly and a vortex is formed. Dust devils rarely produce damage...but have been known to produce winds greater than 50 mph.

The NOAA 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season official forecast was for a high likelyhood of an above-normal season and a chance of a near normal season, calling for 12 to 15 named storms. With all the devastating tropical systems affecting Central Alabama over the past few years, we all had our fingers crossed. Well, November 30th marked the end of the 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Only 9 named storms occurred during the 2006 season. This was the second lowest number since 1995. This reduced activity was attributed largely to the rapid onset of El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific, which suppressed conditions conducive to hurricane formation in the Atlantic.

None of the nine named tropical systems had a direct or adverse affect on Central Alabama.

The end of 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season
National Hurricane Center 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season

Winter Weather has almost been non-existent over the past several years. There have been plenty of cold days during the winter season but no significant icing or snow. The only winter weather event of 2006 occurred on February 18th. Marion, Lamar and Winston Counties received some freezing rain. The freezing rain produced ice accumulations up to 0.20 of an inch on elevated surfaces...such as trees and bridges. A few automobile accidents were attributed to the ice. A few tree limbs were also broken off due to the weight of the ice. The ice lasted only a few hours and then melted.

In January 2005, an Ice Storm occurred in East Alabama, but no measurable snow has fallen at an observing site since 2002 or earlier.

Birmingham Cold Weather Facts...Here.
Montgomery Cold Weather Facts...Here.

2006 was another warm and dry year across Central Alabama. The yearly average temperature was at least one degree above normal at all reporting stations. Additionally, a majority of the reporting stations had deficits of 5 inches or more in yearly rainfall.

Summer thunderstorms were a bit more spotty in 2006 than usual across Central Alabama. Many areas were slightly below normal heading into the typically drier summer months. Several reporting stations and cooperative observers did not receive any rain for stretches of 10 to 20 days. This lack of rain occurred in May and June. This preceded the normally dry part of the year...August, September and October. In areas along and south of US Highway 80, D3 drought (extreme) was experienced while the remainder of the area saw the development of D2 drought (severe) by mid July. Agricultural and Hydrologic impacts were most significant as crops suffered and rivers flowed at below normal stages. Many municipalities across Central Alabama imposed temporary water restrictions.

The summer heat returned as all of the reporting stations measured 100 degrees or above. Hamilton measured the areas highest reading of 106 degrees, observed on July 20th. Tuscaloosa reached or exceeded the century mark 10 times. Most of Central Alabama had not experienced the century mark in several years.

The coldest temperatures of the year occurred on December 8th and 9th. All of Central Alabama fell into the mid to upper teens. But after this brief cold spell, the year ended on a high note with temperatures much above normal.

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