How hot and dry was Birmingham and Central Alabama in September? It was a record breaker

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Screen Shot 2019 10 02 at 5.32.10 PM How hot and dry was Birmingham and Central Alabama in September? It was a record breaker
Image from the National Weather Service Birmingham Office.

According to a public statement by the National Weather Service Birmingham office, the month of September 2019 was a record breaker in Central Alabama for warmth and dryness.

How hot was it?

“Statewide temperatures remained above average for the entire month of September,” stated CBS 42 Meteorologist Ashley Gann in a message to Bham Now. “We ended the month with 5 consecutive record breaking days. On Monday, we broke our previous record that was set 100 years ago.”

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Photo from Ashley Gann’s Facebook page

New Records Everywhere

Here are the totals and records:

Birmingham (Records kept from 1896 to 2019)

  • 2nd Warmest monthly average temperature of 82.1. #1 is 1925 at 84.2
  • 2nd Warmest average high temperature of 94.5. #1 is 1925 at 96.1.
  • 6th Warmest average low temperature of 69.7. # 1 is 1925 at 72.3
  • 11th driest with 0.56 inches of rain. #1 is 1955 with a trace.

Shelby County Airport (1995-2019)

The Shelby County airport site, which has only been keeping official NWS records for 25 years saw numerous records fall.

  • Record Warmest monthly average temperature of 81.6 surpassing the old record of 80.0 in 2018.
  • Record Average high temperature of 95.3, surpassing old record of 91.6 in 2016.
  • Record Driest September with 0.38 inches surpassing the old record of 0.70 in 2016.

Other Records Across the State

Montgomery (1872-2019)

Montgomery Alabama
Photo by: Pat Byington of the Alabama State Capitol

The state capitol averaged a record warmest high temperature of 97.0, surpassing the previous 1925 record of 95.2

September 2019 in Montgomery, also earned the distinction as the driest in 147 years with only o.05 inches of rain.

Tuscaloosa

Bama How hot and dry was Birmingham and Central Alabama in September? It was a record breaker
Denny Chimes on the campus of the University of Alabama. Photo by Pat Byington for Bham Now.

Now we know why Nick Saban hates afternoon games, especially this past September in Tuscaloosa.

T-town notched the warmest monthly average temperature for September in its history at 82.3 surpassing the old record set in 2018.  They also set the record for warmest average high temperature of 95.5, surpassing the old record of 94.5 in 1954.

Heat Wave Ends Sunday

The good news, Birmingham’s month long heat wave looks like it will end beginning on Sunday, October 6th.

“The last 90 degrees (temps) will be this week! By Sunday temperatures will slip into the upper 80s, and I believe that will be the last of the extreme heat for the season,” confirmed Gann.

Meanwhile….

Expect the extreme hot weather to continue into the weekend.

Be safe out there. Bham Now has published a couple of “how to guides” on how to beat the heat.  Take a look and share with your neighbors and family.

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Photo by Sheila McCallum for Bham Now

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Pat Byington
Pat Byington

Longtime conservationist. Former Executive Director at the Alabama Environmental Council and Wild South. Publisher of the Bama Environmental News for more than 18 years. Career highlights include playing an active role in the creation of Alabama's Forever Wild program, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Dugger Mountain Wilderness, preservation of special places throughout the East through the Wilderness Society and the strengthening (making more stringent) the state of Alabama's cancer risk and mercury standards.

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