A mesoscale convective system produced a large complex of showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon hours over the Tennessee Valley. Most of the activity was further south in Alabama.
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.
A mesoscale convective system produced a large complex of showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon hours over the Tennessee Valley. Most of the activity was further south in Alabama. One of the storms became severe and produced wind damage in Moore county.
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 1, 1:48 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 248 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009 .MESOSCALE UPDATE...FOR THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDS FROM CENTRAL OHIO SOUTHWESTWARD THROUGH SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA. NEW MCS HAS DEVELOPED IN CENTRAL TENNESSEE AHEAD OF THIS FRONT AND IS PUSHING EAST. SOME STORMS HAVE DEVELOPED SOUTHWEST OF THIS ORGANIZED AREA OF CONVECTION INTO NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA. THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME MODERATELY UNSTABLE DUE TO DAYTIME HEATING...ESPECIALLY WEST OF INTERSTATE 65. SOME STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITHIN AND AHEAD OF THIS CONVECTIVE COMPLEX THROUGH 7 PM. THEREFORE...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS BEING ISSUED FOR ENTIRE FORECAST AREA UNTIL 7 PM. MAIN THREATS WITH ANY SEVERE STORMS WILL BE WIND GUSTS OVER 60 MPH AND LARGE HAIL. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && 20
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 244 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-021000- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 244 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... A CLUSTER OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AREA THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH AND LARGE HAIL. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS. THE THUNDERSTORM THREAT IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH THE BETTER CHANCES LOCATED OVER SOUTHERN TENNESSEE. SOME STORMS MAY BE STRONG IN NATURE WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. IN ADDITION...A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY APPROACH SEVERE THRESHOLDS EARLY NEXT WEEK AS AN EASTWARD MOVING COLD FRONT INTERACTS WITH PASSING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES. THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH ANY SEVERE STORMS THAT DEVELOP LOOKS TO BE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS REQUESTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. AK/CA/DL
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 312 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009 ALZ005-006-TNZ076-096-012035- LIMESTONE-LINCOLN-MADISON-MOORE- 312 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009 ...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING NORTHERN ALABAMA AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE... A LINE OF STRONG TO POTENTIALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDS FROM SOUTHWEST LAWRENCE TO EASTERN MARSHALL COUNTY...IN SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. THIS LINE OF STORMS IS MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST AT AROUND 30 MPH AND WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORRENTIAL RAIN...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE STORMS WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT NORTHERN LIMESTONE...MADISON AND LINCOLN COUNTY BETWEEN 3:30 PM AND 4:30 PM. RESIDENTS SHOULD TAKE THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS NOW TO PREPARE FOR SEVERE WEATHER...AND STAY TUNED FOR ANY FORTHCOMING WARNINGS. NADLER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 330 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009 ALZ001-012115- LAUDERDALE- 330 PM CDT FRI MAY 1 2009 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR LAUDERDALE COUNTY UNTIL 415 PM CDT... AT 330 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR ZIP CITY...OR 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF UNDERWOOD-PETERSVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH. ONE HALF INCH DIAMETER HAIL IS EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. THIS THUNDERSTORM COULD INTENSIFY QUICKLY...SO BE READY TO ACT IF A WARNING IS ISSUED. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT FRIDAY EVENING FOR NORTHERN 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. COYNE
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:49 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was downed across Raysville Road.
A tree was blown down on Wabash Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Tennessee in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Tennessee, May 2009
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: 168850, 168852.