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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — The year is only a little more than half over but has been busy for meteorologists, as central Alabama has endured everything from snow storms to a historic tornado outbreak.

The Calera office of the National Weather Service recently compiled a list of the many weather events thus far this year.

The list includes the following facts:

– An EF-4 tornado that swept through a path from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa on April 27 was the seventh-deadliest tornado in U.S. history. The EF-5 tornado that devastated Hackleburg that day was the sixth deadliest.

– April 27 and April 15 rank first and second, respectively, for the greatest number of tornadoes during a single day in central Alabama history.

– April 27 brought the largest outbreak of tornadoes to central Alabama since 1974.

– Between May 30 and June 16, Birmingham reached at least 95 degrees for 18 consecutive days, the second longest such streak in history. The record, 20 straight days, was set in 2007.

– Birmingham recorded its fifth driest May in history with only 1.06 inches of rain that month.

– Birmingham has not reached 100 degrees yet this year, but has reached 99 degrees four times.

– The coldest temperature in Birmingham this year — 16 degrees — was reported on January 13 and January 14.

It’s nearly impossible to pinpoint a reason for the unusual weather pattern, said weather service meteorologist Aaron Gleason.

“Some years, it’s quieter, but this year in particular has been more active,” Gleason said.

There may be more unusual weather in the near future for the Birmingham area, Gleason said, as weather service forecasts for Friday call for a 50 percent chance of rain. A rain chance of 10 to 20 percent is normal for this time of year, he said.

For the rest of July, the weather service’s climate prediction center shows Birmingham having a good chance of unusually warm high temperatures and lower-than-normal chances of rain most days, Gleason said.

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