1999 Weather Year in Review

1999 Weather Year in Review

The deep south experienced the second year in a row with warmer and drier than normal weather. Huntsville had its third warmest and fourth driest year on record. While Birmingham and Montgomery experienced warmer and drier than normal years, the yearly totals fell among the middle of the years of record. January 5, 1999 was the coldest day across the state, when the temperatures dipped to 12 degrees in Huntsville and Birmingham, and 15 in Montgomery. Mid August provided the state with its hottest temperatures. Huntsville reached 102 on August 13, Birmingham 103 on August 19, and Montgomery peaked at 102 on August 18. There was no appreciable snow in the state in 1999. Here is the breakdown for each location for 1999.

City	Mean Temperature for 1999	Mean Temperature Departure from Normal	Total Rainfall for 1999	Total Rainfall Departure from Normal
Huntsville	62.4	plus 2.3	45.58	minus 11.58
Birmingham	64.4	plus 2.1	48.77	minus 5.78
Montgomery	65.7	plus 0.7	44.95	minus 8.48

Here are the top 5 years of record for each city:
Huntsville (records since 1958)
Warmest	Coldest	Wettest	Driest
1998 - 63.4	1976 - 58.2	1989 - 73.58	1981 - 41.81
1991 - 62.5	1979 - 58.8	1975 - 72.97	1968 - 42.43
1999 - 62.4	1983 - 59.1	1990 - 72.26	1965 - 42.99
1965 - 62.1	1968 - 59.3	1991 - 70.26	1999 - 45.58
1959 - 61.9	1981 - 59.5	1983 - 67.39	1998 - 45.76
Birmingham (records since 1900)
Warmest	Coldest	Wettest	Driest
1921 - 66.1	1983 - 60.2	1916 - 81.82	1904 - 34.32
1933 - 65.5	1976 - 60.3	1961 - 76.48	1931 - 36.14
1927 - 65.5	1966 - 60.5	1903 - 76.21	1943 - 36.86
1922 - 65.3	1968 - 60.7	1980 - 75.36	1908 - 39.52
1938 - 65.1	1969 - 60.8	1948 - 71.45	1954 - 40.66
Montgomery (records since 1910)
Warmest	Coldest	Wettest	Driest
1927 - 68.0	1976 - 62.4	1929 - 78.25	1953 - 26.82
1933 - 67.8	1983 - 63.5	1912 - 77.89	1931 - 34.44
1921 - 67.8	1969 - 63.6	1989 - 75.47	1968 - 35.46
1922 - 67.5	1996 - 63.6	1983 - 75.47	1914 - 37.99
1911 - 67.3	1968 - 63.7	1975 - 72.98	1951 - 38.65

Here are some preliminary numbers regarding severe weather days for 1999:

Days with hail >= 0.75 inch ... 34

Days with wind damage or wind speeds >= 50 kts ... 40

Days with tornadoes ... 6

Days with flash floods ... 14

The numbers above are only for the Birmingham, AL county warning area.

Half of the wind damage days included severe size hail (20).

We at the National Weather Service wish you all the best for 2000.