Clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms erupted during the early afternoon hours across much of northeast Alabama and southern middle Tennessee. These storms produced isolated wind damage, vivid lightning, and minor ponding of water on area roads.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms erupted during the early afternoon hours across much of northeast Alabama and southern middle Tennessee. These storms produced isolated wind damage, vivid lightning, and minor ponding of water on area roads.
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, 9:16 AM CST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1016 AM CDT FRI MAY 26 2006 .MORNING UPDATE...AS SKIES HAVE CLEARED THIS MORNING FOLLOWING OVERNIGHT CONVECTION...ALREADY SEEING ENHANCED CUMULUS DEVELOPMENT ACROSS SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. THOUGH DIFFICULT TO PINPOINT... OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES EXIST AROUND THE AREA. LATEST RUC ANALYSIS INDICATES LOW LCL HEIGHTS WITHIN MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER. CONVECTIVE TEMPS FROM KBMX AND KOHX ARE 87F AND 89F RESPECTIVELY. THE BIG QUESTION IS THE CAP AND HOW STRONG THE WARMING ALOFT WILL BE THROUGHOUT THE DAY. THE 12Z/NAM SHOWS ABOUT A 1-3C WARMING FROM 850-500MB THROUGH 00Z. HOWEVER...SHOULD WE SEE ENOUGH SFC HEATING TO OVERCOME ANY CAP...CONVECTION WILL LIKELY DEVELOP RAPIDLY ALONG LINGERING OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES. DUE TO DEEP INSTABILITY AND MARGINAL 0-6KM SHEAR...THE POTENTIAL REMAINS FOR ISOLATED STORMS TO QUICKLY BECOME STRONG AND APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS WITH THE PRIMARY THREAT BEING 1/2 TO 1 INCH HAIL. FAIRLY UNI-DIRECTIONAL SHEAR PROFILES SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH COLLAPSING STORMS AS WELL. A QUICK UPDATE TO THE CURRENT FORECAST WILL FOLLOW WITH ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS EXPECTED. MAY NUDGE POPS DOWN A BIT TODAY...WITH FOCUS FOR CONVECTIVE INITIATION POSSIBLY HOLDING OFF UNTIL AFTER 4PM. MAX TEMPERATURES LOOK ON TRACK...RISING TO THE 85-90F RANGE. NADLER.83 && .PREV DISCUSSION... MCS WILL MAKE 1ST PERIOD FCST TRICKY WITH POPS/CLOUD COVER/TEMPS. FOR NOW WENT WITH CHANCE POPS FOR TODAY. AS FOR CLOUD COVER...THINK MOST OF MORNING WILL BE MOSTLY CLOUDY...WITH PARTLY CLOUDY BY AFTN. SHOULD SEE ENOUGH SUN TODAY TO REACH UPPER 80S/LOW 90S. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR CURRENT WX SITUATION TO SEE IF WILL HAVE TO ADJUST POPS/CLOUDS ETC. THINKING AT THE MOMENT THAT MOST OF PCPN WILL BE OVER BY SUNRISE. SOME OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES WERE NOTED EARLIER THIS MRNG FROM THE OHX RADAR...SO WOULD NOT BE SURPRISE TO SEE REDEVELOPMENT OF MORE STORMS THIS AFTN LASTING INTO THE EVENING. SINCE CAPES WILL BE ARND 5000/LIS NEAR MINUS 10/8H WINDS ARND 30/35 KTS...SOME STORMS MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS. LARGE HAIL/DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS. FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE SPC DAY ONE OUTLOOK. SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS COULD LAST INTO FRIDAY NIGHT...DUE TO OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES AND WHERE WEAK FRONT ENDS UP. KEPT LOW POPS FOR ALL OF 2ND PERIOD. SATURDAY THRU SUNDAY RIDGE IN PLACE BUT SINCE CDFNT NOT EXPECTED TO PUSH THRU CWA WITH DRIER AIRMASS...WARM/HUMID CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY KICK OFF A FEW ISOLATED/SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA MAINLY AFTN/EVENING TYPE. TRIED TO SHOW THIS IN THE GRIDS. MONDAY THRU THURSDAY...RIDGE BEGINS TO BREAK DOWN AND GFS IS EVEN HINTING AT A CDFNT APPROACHING THE AREA BY WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY TIMEFRAME. CURRENT ZONES ALREADY HAS LOW POPS IN ALL OF THE EXTENDED FCST...WILL NOT CHANGE. DID ADJUST POPS TO MAKE WORDING SHORTER IN ZONES. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && 07/83
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1045 AM CDT FRI MAY 26 2006 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-270000- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DE KALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 1045 AM CDT FRI MAY 26 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON...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. THUNDERSTORMS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH AFTER MIDNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... A MOIST AND UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE CHANCE FOR AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. THE POTENTIAL WILL EXIST THAT SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD PRODUCE FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN... GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. AN UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND VERY WARM TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH NEXT WEEK. THUS AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EACH DAY NEXT WEEK. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS POSSIBLE LATER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING. NADLER
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 67 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:10 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Power lines were blown down at the intersection of County Roads 21 and 105 and within the Robin Lane subdivision.
Numerous power poles were blown down creating power outages.
Power lines were blown down.
Lightning struck adjacent to the National Weather Service office on the campus of the University of Alabama at Huntsville. A National Weather Service employee who was on-duty viewed the close flash through an adjacent window and experienced a jolt of electricity while using the telephone. Afterwards, the employee noticed a tingling sensation in his ear, arms and experienced a severe headache through that evening. No apparent damage was observed in the office or on office grounds.
Power lines were blown down.
A home was struck by lightning igniting a fire.
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: 5505945, 5505946, 5504982, 5504983, 5504984, 5504985.