Flash Flood — Tuscaloosa, Alabama

2021-09-18 · near Veterans Hospital, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Event narrative

Severe flooding across the cities of Northport and Tuscaloosa. Water was 2-3 feet deep along portions of 14th Avenue in the city of Tuscaloosa with numerous roads flooded and impassable across the city. One fatality was reported near the intersection of Greensboro Avenue and 24th Street as a vehicle was swept off the road and into a drainage ditch.

Wider weather episode

A tropical air mass covered Alabama on September 18-19 with precipitable water values over 2 inches. An nearly stationary upper low near the Texas and Louisiana state line provided lift and instability for showers and thunderstorms across the Central Gulf States. An inverted surface trough was located along the I-20 corridor on September 18th, and provided a focus for slow moving thunderstorms that produced flash flooding across Tuscaloosa, Jefferson and Shelby counties. The upper trough moved slightly eastward on the 19th and the flooding threat shifted to areas east of I-65.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.1650, -87.6010)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 984795. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.