Flash Flood — Shelby, Alabama

2025-04-06 · near Quito, Shelby, Alabama

Event narrative

Valleydale Road near Veterans Park was impassable, with flooding along Acton Creek also impacting other nearby roadways. Just to the south, Cahaba Valley Creek east of Interstate 65 reached minor flood stage.

Wider weather episode

Deep-layer ridging over the Southeast United States held up a trough over the Central United States for the first few days of April, leading to a prolonged and significant severe weather and flooding event from Texas to Ohio and West Virginia along a stalled boundary. As the ridge began to retreat eastward, a cold front slowly progressed through Central Alabama on April 6, with an all-hazards weather event unfolding. Slow moving thunderstorms from early morning to late afternoon resulted in flooding issues across northwestern counties and the Birmingham, Montgomery, and Auburn/Opelika areas. Additionally, two brief tornadoes were confirmed, and there were a few isolated reports of hail and wind damage. Late that evening, a motorist in Hale County drove into a downed tree, resulting in a fatality.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.4182, -86.7193)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1233977. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.