Flash Flood — Cleburne, Alabama

2025-08-03 · near Ranburne, Cleburne, Alabama

Event narrative

Heavy rain fell over Cleburne County for several hours during the early morning of August 3. Rainfall totals across the southern part of the county between Ranburne and Heflin were generally up to 5-8, with as high as 8-10 estimated by radar in the area of Turkey Heaven Mountain and corroborated by local reports. Numerous roadways were flooded or washed out, along with a bridge on CR 640. Impacted roadways included CR 10 at CR 635, CR 41, CR 633, and CR 640 all around Knokes Creek. Around 4:40 am CDT, a vehicle became stranded in high water on CR 10 at CR 635, and the occupant needed to be rescued. Around 6:20 am CDT, another vehicle became stuck in floodwaters along CR 41. Two occupants of the vehicle were swept away. One was rescued with minor injuries, while the second was found deceased a couple hours later.

Emergency management, police, and fire provided reports of other flooded or washed out roads, which included CR 10 near Pineywood Creek, CR 75 at CR 42 along Sheep Creek, CR 19 at CR 118, CR 36 at Dynne Creek near Greens Chapel, CR 49 at the Tallapoosa River near Abernathy, and CR 49 at CR 48 near Macedonia.

Streams flowing northward into the Tallapoosa River resulted in the river rising to minor flood stage near Heflin during the morning and midday hours.

Wider weather episode

Slow-moving thunderstorms occurred during the afternoon of August 1. One storm dumped 2-3 of rain over a localized area of Vestavia Hills and northern Hoover in less than an hour, resulting in numerous street flooding issues along Highway 31 and nearby roadways. The next day, heavy rainfall developed along a boundary between the I-59 and I-20 corridors in northeast Central Alabama during the afternoon and evening hours. Heavy rain continued into the overnight and early on the 3rd, with up to 5-7 of rain falling in different areas of Cherokee, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. Radar estimates indicated up to 8-10 over the Turkey Heaven Mountain area west of Ranburne in Cleburne County. Flooding was reported around Centre, Piedmont, southern Cherokee County, and southern Cleburne County. Numerous roadways were flooded and washed out, and one person was killed after being swept from a vehicle in Cleburne County and recovered a couple hours later.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.5020, -85.3484)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1269633. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.