A band of showers and thunderstorms produced occasional lightning. A woman in northern Lauderdale County was struck by lightning.
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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.
A band of showers and thunderstorms produced occasional lightning. A woman in northern Lauderdale County was struck by lightning.
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 Dec 27, 10:01 PM CST, 59 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1101 PM CDT SAT DEC 27 2008 .UPDATE...FOR 06Z TAFS. && .AVIATION... BASED ON RADAR TRENDS...SQUALL LINE WILL BE ONGOING OR JUST PAST KMSL...AND SHOULD ARRIVE AT KHSV ~07Z. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE WEST FOR A PERIOD AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. WILL CARRY STRATIFORM RA FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS BEHIND THE LINE AT BOTH LOCATIONS...WITH PERIODIC MVFR CIGS. VFR CIGS AND WIND SHIFT TO THE NW SHOULD FOLLOW AFTER FROPA. && .DISCUSSION /ISSUED AT 808 PM CDT/... UPPER AIR... THE 00Z 5H ANALYSIS SHOWS A JET OF 100 KT FROM NORMAN OK TO DAVENPORT IA....WITH A DECENT 12 HR HEIGHT FALL CENTER OF 17DKM IN NRN OK...AND A RISE OF 22DKM AT ALBUQUERQUE (KABQ). THIS COINCIDES WITH A DISTINCT DRY SLOT IN A SIMILAR AXIS. A SECOND SHORTWAVE WAS SCOOTING RAPIDLY EWD THROUGH NRN MEXICO INTO W TX. RADAR AND MESOSCALE TRENDS... A NARROW SQUALL LINE IS PROGRESSING ABOUT AS EXPECTED...JUST PASSING THROUGH PADUCAH (G51KT AT KPAH)...AND THRU MEMPHIS (G33KT AT KMEM). THE LINE IS EXHIBITING SEVERAL SMALL BOW ECHOES AND WEAK ECHO CHANNELS. THE LINE EXTENDS SWD INTO LOUISIANA WHERE COLDER CLOUD TOPS AND HIGHER MOISTURE/LOW LEVEL INSTABILITY RESIDE. THE KJAN/KBMX SOUNDINGS SHOW A DISTINCT LID AROUND 750-800MB...AND FAIRLY WARM 5H TEMPS OF -9 TO -10C. THE COLD POOL AT 5H IS LIFTING NE THROUGH THE OZARKS/LOWER MO VALLEY...SO UPPER LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE FAIRLY WEAK. HOWEVER...BOTH BMX/JAN SHOW A STEEP LAPSE RATE ABOVE THE CAP UP TO 6H BEFORE REACHING ANOTHER SMALL INVERSION. RECENT TRENDS INDICATE AN UPSWING IN INTENSITY OVER CENTRAL MS WITH RECENT SVR TSTM WARNINGS REQUIRED FROM WFO JAN FROM AN APPARENT BOW ECHO TAKING SHAPE. THE GFS NOTED A SIMILAR UPSWING IN CONVECTION/QPF SIGNAL OVER MS THIS EVENING WHICH IS FORECAST TO TRACK INTO THE TN VALLEY AFT 06Z. THE CURRENT RADAR TREND FAVORS THIS SCENARIO. SFC DEW POINTS LOWERED INTO THE 50S OVER MUCH OF AL DUE TO DEEP MIXING...BUT WE SHOULD SEE THE DEEPER MOISTURE IN MS/LA ADVECT RAPIDLY THIS EVENING AHEAD OF THE LINE. DEW POINTS SHOULD REACH THE L60S AGAIN...AT LEAST W OF I-65. TEMPS REMAIN IN THE U60S W OF I-65 AS WELL. THE LINE WILL UNDOUBTEDLY TRACK THROUGH OUR ENTIRE FORECAST AREA...BUT THE HIGHEST THREAT OF ANY WIND DAMAGE WILL BE OVER NW/NC AL. FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATE A NARROW AREA OF 200-400 J/KG MLCAPE. BUT MORE IMPORTANT WILL BE THE LARGE LOW LEVEL SHEAR AND HELICITY NOTED IN THIS EVENING'S OBSERVED AND FORECAST HODOGRAPHS. THE 0-1KM SRH WILL RUN 200-300 M2/S2...THUS...CONCERN FOR ISOLATED BRIEF TORNADOES STILL CANNOT BE RULED OUT...MAINLY W OF I-65. 8H WINDS ARE "ONLY" 45-50 KT NOW...WITH THE 60-70KT JET FURTHER N...THUS I AM NOT CONCERNED FOR WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS...BUT MORE LOCALIZED DAMAGING WITH BOW ECHOES. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && KULA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 834 PM CST SAT DEC 27 2008 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-281000- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DE KALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 834 PM CST SAT DEC 27 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THROUGH TONIGHT... DAMAGING WINDS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT AS ANOTHER SQUALL LINE TRACKS EAST THROUGH THE CENTRAL TENNESSEE VALLEY. THE LINE HAS INCREASED SPEED...AND WILL ARRIVE A BIT SOONER THAN EARLIER FORECAST. THE LINE WILL MOVE INTO NORTHWEST ALABAMA BETWEEN 10 AND 11 PM...THE INTERSTATE 65 CORRIDOR AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE BY 1 AM...THEN EXIT NORTHEAST ALABAMA FROM 2 TO 4 AM. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS OF 60 MPH OR HIGHER WITHIN BOW ECHOES THAT OCCUR ALONG THE LINE. THERE IS ALSO A SLIGHT RISK OF A BRIEF ISOLATED TORNADO. THE LINE WILL WEAKEN SLOWLY AS IT MOVES EASTWARD INTO MORE STABLE AIR...THOUGH ISOLATED WIND DAMAGE WILL REMAIN A POSSIBILITY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. KULA
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1003 PM CST SAT DEC 27 2008 ALZ001>003-280445- COLBERT-FRANKLIN-LAUDERDALE- 1003 PM CST SAT DEC 27 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR COLBERT...FRANKLIN AND LAUDERDALE COUNTIES UNTIL 1045 PM CST... AT 1003 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING HEAVY SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 17 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SAVANNAH TO 6 MILES NORTH OF FULTON...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. WINDS UP TO 40 MPH AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. * LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH INCLUDE... WATERLOO...ZIP CITY. RIVERTON...OAKLAND. MARGERUM...MUSCLE SHOALS. ALLSBORO...COLBERT HEIGHTS. MYNOT...NEW BETHEL. RED BAY...DEMPSEY. THE GUSTY WINDS WILL BE CAPABLE OF KNOCKING DOWN SMALL TREES...TREE LIMBS...AND POWERLINES. SEEK SAFE SHELTER UNTIL THE STORMS HAVE PASSED. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO...OR YOUR LOCAL TELEVISION STATIONS FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS WEATHER SITUATION. KDW
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1036 PM CST SAT DEC 27 2008 ALZ001-280500- LAUDERDALE- 1036 PM CST SAT DEC 27 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR LAUDERDALE COUNTY UNTIL 1100 PM CST... AT 1036 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF ZIP CITY TO 6 MILES WEST OF TUSCUMBIA...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. WINDS UP TO 50 MPH AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. * LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH INCLUDE... ST. FLORIAN...SAINT FLORIAN. GREEN HILL...KILLEN. CENTER STAR...LEXINGTON. THE GUSTY WINDS WILL BE CAPABLE OF KNOCKING DOWN SMALL TREES...TREE LIMBS...AND POWERLINES. SEEK SAFE SHELTER 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. KDW
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1038 PM CST SAT DEC 27 2008 ALZ003-280500- FRANKLIN- 1038 PM CST SAT DEC 27 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR FRANKLIN COUNTY UNTIL 1100 PM CST... AT 1038 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM SRYGLEY CHURCH TO HODGES...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. WINDS UP TO 50 MPH AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. * LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH INCLUDE... DUKETON. ROCKWOOD...ISBELL. SPRUCE PINE...PLEASANT RIDGE. THARPTOWN. NEWBURG. THE GUSTY WINDS WILL BE CAPABLE OF KNOCKING DOWN SMALL TREES...TREE LIMBS...AND POWERLINES. SEEK SAFE SHELTER 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. KDW
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:58 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A 28 year old female was struck by lightning while standing on a carport. The person was ambulanced to a local hospital.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, December 2008
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: 140663.