Two clusters of thunderstorms affected the Tennessee Valley. The first developed over far northeast Alabama during peak late afternoon heating as a weak upper level disturbance tracked southeast.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS HUN wrote it up.
Two clusters of thunderstorms affected the Tennessee Valley. The first developed over far northeast Alabama during peak late afternoon heating as a weak upper level disturbance tracked southeast. This cluster produced isolated large hail and wind damage. A second cluster of thunderstorms dropped southeast into southern middle Tennessee and far north central Alabama after dark and was responsible for a lightning strike injury.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 26, 1:58 PM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 258 PM CDT FRI MAY 26 2006 .DISCUSSION... PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES PREVAILED ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON...WITH 2 PM TEMPS IN THE UPPER 80S TO AROUND 90. AREA DEWPOINTS WERE IN UPPER 60S TO AROUND 70...WITH HEAT INDICES IN THE LOWER 90S. DAYTIME HEATING HAS HELPED CUMULUS AND TOWERING CUMULUS CLOUDS FORM. A FEW SHOWERS AND T-STORMS WERE STARTING ALONG THE TENNESSEE/ALABAMA STATE LINE FROM NW OF ATHENS TO NE ALABAMA. OTHER OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES WERE PRESENT FROM RED BAY TO NORTH OF HUNTSVILLE...AND ACROSS NORTH/CENTRAL ALABAMA. AFTERNOON HEATING WILL GET MORE CONVECTION ACROSS THE AREA IN THE NEXT HOUR OR SO. ANALYSIS OF EARLIER 12Z UPPER DATA INDICATED UPPER RIDGING FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS TO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. WITH TROUGHING OVER THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES...THIS WAS KEEPING A NW FLOW OVER THE. FURTHER OUT ON A BIGGER PICTURE...A MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE VORT MAX...REMNANTS OF A THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX THAT AFFECTED SOUTHERN KANSAS YESTERDAY EVENING WAS MOVING OVER THE WESTERN OZARKS OF MISSOURI/ARKANSAS...MAKING A BEELINE TOWARD THIS AREA LATER TONIGHT. STORMS THAT DEVELOP AROUND IT WILL AFFECT PORTIONS OF THE VALLEY DURING THE OVERNIGHT. THUS FOR TONIGHT...WILL MAINTAIN A CHANCE OF CONVECTION AS IS ALREADY NOTED. FORECASTS CAPES FROM THE ETA/WRF STAY ABOVE 1500J/KG INTO THE LATE EVENING. 0-3KM HELICITY WILL INCREASE TO THE 200M/S RANGE DURING THE OVERNIGHT. THE PRIMARY RISK FROM STORMS THAT BECOME SEVERE WILL BE DAMAGING WIND (FROM COLLAPSING CELLS)...THEN SEVERE HAIL IF A STORM DEVELOPS A SUBSTANTIAL CORE. TIMING OF THE MCV NOTED ABOVE APPEARS TO BE AROUND MIDNIGHT FOR THE WESTERN/MIDDLE PORTIONS OF OUR COUNTY WARNING AREA. WITH IT ENHANCING T-STORM GROWTH/DEVELOPMENT... STORMS ACROSS THE AREA MAY CONTINUE ON/OFF ALL NIGHT LONG. THE MAIN SEVERE THREAT WILL DIMINISH DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS BEFORE SATURDAY MORNING. FOR SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...UPPER RIDGING FROM THE SW WILL BUILD TOWARD THE AREA...ENDING THE NW FLOW ALOFT THAT HAS BEEN PRESENT FOR OVER A WEEK. THIS WILL PROVIDE FOR CONTINUED WARMING. BUT CONTINUED LOWER LEVEL MOISTURE...AND HIGH TEMPS NEARING 90 WILL KEEP A SLIGHT RISK OF MAINLY AFTERNOON/EVENING CONVECTION. MEMORIAL DAY INTO WEDNESDAY...ODDS OF RAIN PICK UP A BIT MORE WITH MORE MOISTURE TO WORK WITH AND CONTINUED WARM TEMPS. KEPT A CHANCE OF RAIN MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON/EVENING. THURSDAY...THE GFS PICKS UP A COLD FRONT NEARING THE REGION...WHOSE TIMING MAY BE A BIT FASTER THAN THE SLOWER ECMWF. HAVE INCREASED TO A CHANCE OF RAIN THEN...AND WILL END FRIDAY WITH NO POPS. RAIN MAY BE NEEDED FOR NEXT FRIDAY IF THE SLOWER SOLUTION COMES TRUE. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... HUNTSVILLE 70 90 69 89 / 30 20 20 20 SHOALS 70 90 70 90 / 30 20 20 20 CULLMAN 70 91 69 90 / 30 20 20 20 FAYETTEVILLE 67 89 68 90 / 30 20 20 20 FORT PAYNE 68 89 67 88 / 30 20 20 20 && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && RSB
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 122 PM CDT FRI MAY 26 2006 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-270400- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DE KALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 122 PM CDT FRI MAY 26 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THROUGH TONIGHT... ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP BETWEEN 2 AND 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON AND PERSIST THROUGH THIS EVENING...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE AND AREAS EAST OF I-65 IN NORTHERN ALABAMA. GIVEN THE MOIST AND VERY UNSTABLE AIR MASS IN PLACE...THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR ANY OF THESE STORMS TO QUICKLY BECOME STRONG AND POSSIBLY SEVERE LATER TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING. THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE HAIL UP TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...BUT STRONG DAMAGING WINDS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT...HOWEVER THE SEVERE THREAT SHOULD DIMINISH. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREATS OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... A VERY WARM...MOIST AND UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT WILL SUPPORT THE CHANCE FOR AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. THE PRIMARY THREATS FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN... GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS POSSIBLE THROUGH THIS EVENING. NADLER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 311 PM CDT FRI MAY 26 2006 ALZ009-010-262100- DE KALB-JACKSON- 311 PM CDT FRI MAY 26 2006 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR NORTHERN DEKALB AND JACKSON COUNTIES UNTIL 400 PM CDT... AT 311 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EAST OF A LINE...EXTENDING FROM HYTOP TO SCOTTSBORO...MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. DIME SIZE HAIL... WINDS UP TO 40 MPH...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. * LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH INCLUDE... FABIUS. FLAT ROCK. LONG ISLAND. HIGDON. FACKLER. STEVENSON. HOLLYWOOD. SULPHER SPRINGS. SEEK SHELTER AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO...OR YOUR LOCAL TELEVISION STATIONS FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS WEATHER SITUATION. NADLER
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:00 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees were blown down in multiple location including a large tree down onto Highway 75.
Quarter sized hail reported on County Road 89 near Mentone.
A woman received minor injuries due to a lightning strike. Other details unknown.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, May 2006
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5505941, 5505942, 5505943.