An area of low pressure developed along a strong cold front over northeastern Oklahoma and quickly moved northeast into the Great Lakes region. This intense low brought a potent cold front into northwest portions of Alabama producing wind damage during the evening hours.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
An area of low pressure developed along a strong cold front over northeastern Oklahoma and quickly moved northeast into the Great Lakes region. This intense low brought a potent cold front into northwest portions of Alabama producing wind damage during the evening hours.
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 Jan 8, 6:25 PM CST, 1 hour earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 625 PM CST TUE JAN 8 2008 .UPDATE... UPDATED GRIDS ALREADY SENT. ZFP TO BE UPDATED SHORTLY. && .DISCUSSION... QUICK LOOK AT THE 00Z OBS INDICATES THAT THE FRONT HAS MADE IT TO THE MS RIVER. AREA RADARS CONTINUE TO INDICATE A DECAYING LINE AS IT MOVES EWD. LMA/CG LTG DATA SHOWS SEVERAL LIGHTNING STRIKES IN THE STORMS NE OF TUPELO AND A STRONG/SVR STORM IN THE VICINITY OF COLUMBUS MS. OTHERWISE THERE ARE FEW STORMS OF SIGNIFICANCE IN THIS PARTICULAR PORTION OF THE BKN LINE...BUT THIS COULD QUICKLY CHANGE WITH DEEPER MOISTURE IN THE FORM OF DWPTS 60F OR HIGHER NOSING TOWARDS THE TN STATE LINE. MADE A FEW QUICK UPDATES TO THE POP/QPF GRIDS TO REFLECT RADAR TRENDS...AND WILL BE UPDATING TO INCLUDE A FORTHCOMING TORNADO WATCH. WILL TAKE A MORE THOROUGH LOOK AT THE FCST LATER THIS EVENING. && .PREV DISCUSSION...ISSUED 204 PM CST TUE JAN 8 2008... SLIGHTLY COOLER AIR AND CLEARING SKIES ARE EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY... AS THE FRONT PUSHES SOUTHEAST INTO SOUTHERN ALABAMA AND GEORGIA BEFORE STALLING. ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT...A SURFACE LOW MOVING INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST WILL CAUSE WARMER AIR TO ADVECT NORTH VIA SOUTHWEST FLOW. THIS WILL FORCE THE STATIONARY FRONT OVER SOUTHERN ALABAMA NORTHWARD AS A WARM FRONT...POSSIBLY PRODUCING A FEW SCATTERED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTHERN ALABAMA AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. A COLD FRONT TRAILING SOUTHWEST FROM THE SURFACE LOW...ALONG WITH STRONG JET DYNAMICS...WILL MOVE EAST THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA ON THURSDAY. MODELS ARE HINTING AT A MORE UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE IN PLACE BY THEN...WITH LIS AROUND -3 AND CAPE AROUND 600 J/KG DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. CANNOT RULE OUT A ROUND OF SEVERE WEATHER THEN. THURSDAY NIGHT A FEW SHOWERS COULD LINGER THROUGH DAYBREAK ON FRIDAY...PARTICULARLY IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA. HOWEVER...BY FRIDAY MORNING CLEAR CONDITIONS AND AGAIN COOLER WEATHER WILL RETURN TO THE FORECAST AS HIGH PRESSURE BEGINS TO BUILD INTO THE SOUTHEAST. 12Z MODELS KEEP MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW IN THE CENTRAL GULF MUCH FURTHER SOUTH FROM SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY THAN PREVIOUS RUNS. BY SUNDAY GFS AND ECMWF DROPS A CLIPPER SYSTEM SOUTHEAST FROM CENTRAL CANADA. BY SUNDAY NIGHT...THIS CLIPPER SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO APPROACH THE TENNESSEE VALLEY...POSSIBLY BRINGING A FEW SHOWERS TO THE FORECAST AREA. MONDAY MORNING...MEAGER MOISTURE IS LEFT...BUT CANNOT RULE OUT A FEW SPRINKLES AS 850 TROUGH MOVES EAST. OVERALL HAVE TRENDED TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY WARMER...PARTICULARLY ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && UPDATE...BCC PREV DISCUSSION...20
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 100 PM CST TUE JAN 8 2008 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-090500- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DE KALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 100 PM CST TUE JAN 8 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THROUGH TONIGHT... A STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE TENNESSEE VALLEY THIS EVENING. A FEW SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON...AND RAIN CHANCES WILL INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER SUNSET AS THE FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL FOR MUCH OF THE DAY AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS. SOUTHERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH...WITH A FEW GUSTS OVER 30 MPH ARE EXPECTED. THE COLD FRONT IS POISED TO MOVE ACROSS NORTHWEST ALABAMA BY LATE EVENING...REACHING THE INTERSTATE 65 CORRIDOR JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY SHOULD BE WELL EAST OF THE AREA BEFORE DAYBREAK WEDNESDAY. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE CONCENTRATED ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SOME STRONG THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT... ESPECIALLY WEST OF INTERSTATE 65 IN ADVANCE OF THE FRONT THIS EVENING. THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH ANY STRONGER STORMS WILL BE WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY... ANOTHER SYSTEM APPROACHING THE AREA FROM THE WEST WILL INTERACT WITH GULF MOISTURE TO BRING MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. A FEW OF THE STORMS ON THURSDAY COULD BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE...WITH THE PRIMARY THREAT ONCE AGAIN BEING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. THIS SYSTEM ALSO HAS A POTENTIAL TO BRING A GOOD DOSE OF NEEDED RAIN ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. YET ANOTHER SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO IMPACT THE REGION BY LATE IN THE WEEKEND. AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO ON SATURDAY...AND MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES SUNDAY. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING GULF MOISTURE NORTHWARD AND A SMALL CHANCE OF COLD RAIN TO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY LATE SUNDAY OR MONDAY. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT ANY MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION THAT WOULD OCCUR WOULD BE IN THE FORM OF RAIN. HOWEVER... WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS SYSTEM FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR WINTRY WEATHER ACROSS THE REGION. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY...BUT IS POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY. CBD
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 647 PM CST TUE JAN 8 2008 ALZ001-090105- LAUDERDALE- 647 PM CST TUE JAN 8 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR EXTREME NORTHWESTERN LAUDERDALE COUNTY UNTIL 705 PM CST... AT 647 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WALNUT GROVE TENNESSEE...OR 11 MILES NORTHEAST OF IUKA MISSISSIPPI...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH. PEA SIZE HAIL...WINDS UP TO 50 MPH...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. * LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH INCLUDE... WATERLOO. THREET. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 AM CST WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA AND CENTRAL TENNESSEE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO...OR YOUR LOCAL TELEVISION STATIONS FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS WEATHER SITUATION. JE
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 717 PM CST TUE JAN 8 2008 ALZ002-090145- COLBERT- 717 PM CST TUE JAN 8 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR COLBERT COUNTY UNTIL 745 PM CST... AT 717 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES NORTH OF BELGREEN...OR 10 MILES WEST OF RUSSELLVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH. PEA SIZE HAIL...WINDS UP TO 50 MPH...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. * LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH INCLUDE... SRYGLEY CHURCH. CROOKED OAK. LITTLEVILLE. SPRING VALLEY. WHITEOAK. LEIGHTON. THE GUSTY WINDS WILL BE CAPABLE OF KNOCKING DOWN SMALL TREES...TREE LIMBS...AND POWERLINES. SEEK SAFE SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT DOES NOT INCLUDE MUSCLE SHOALS... TUSCUMBIA...OR SHEFFIELD. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 AM CST WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA AND CENTRAL TENNESSEE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO...OR YOUR LOCAL TELEVISION STATIONS FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS WEATHER SITUATION. JE
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 116 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:23 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees in the downtown area of Waterloo at the intersection of county roads 45 and 14.
The Decatur Daily reported a large tree uprooted, a few shingles were blown off a roof, and an outbuilding was destroyed on Old Highway 20. Also, a carport collapsed onto a car and a large patch of singles were blown from the roof.
Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees down at the intersection of county roads 150 and 114.
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, January 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: 76519, 76523, 76525.