Published on: January 5, 2014 at 3:30 PM

With all the talk about the upcoming wintry weather event, I thought we might shift gears for a moment and look back at some weather history that doesn’t involve cold and that happened on this date.

Back in 2009, heavy rains fell across North Central Alabama between January 5-7. The most rain fell from Walker County to Etowah County; where up to seven inches of rain was reported. A bingo hall was flooded in Walker County on the night of the 6th, requiring the rescue of seventy stranded patrons. Eighteen cars were submerged.

While the flooding was a disaster for some people, overall, the rains were very welcome, with long term rainfall deficits still in place in many Alabama counties.

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Rain kept coming all year. When all was said and done, it was the third wettest year in Birmingham since 1930.

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