Thirty to forty knot westerly mid level flow shifted eastward across the Tennessee valley to the Southern Appalachians. In addition, intense surface heating in a rather moist air mass resulted in numerous damaging thunderstorms across North Central 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 BMX wrote it up.
Thirty to forty knot westerly mid level flow shifted eastward across the Tennessee valley to the Southern Appalachians. In addition, intense surface heating in a rather moist air mass resulted in numerous damaging thunderstorms across North Central Alabama.
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 Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 13, 9:25 AM CST, 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1025 AM CDT TUE JUL 13 2010 .UPDATE...MESOSCALE UPDATE. && .DISCUSSION... ORGANIZED LINE OF CONVECTION APPROACHING NORTHWEST COUNTIES LATE THIS MORNING. FORWARD SPEED AND STRENGTH HAS BEEN SLOWING THE LAST HOUR OR SO. THE LATEST MASS FIELDS INDICATE A DRY AREA ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA WHERE PRECIP WATER VALUES ARE AROUND 1.5 INCHES. THE EDGE OF THE 2 INCH PRECIP WATER VALUES ARE NEAR THE LINE OF CONVECTION. SURFACE BASED AND MIXED LAYER CAPE VALUES ARE 1000-1500 WITH MOST CIN NOW GONE. CU FIELD STARTING TO DEVELOP. DOWNDRAFT CAPE VALUES ARE 1000+ AREAWIDE. MID AND LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE NOT OVERLY IMPRESSIVE BUT SHOULD INCREASE A BIT THIS AFTERNOON. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL SWING ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON WITH EFFECTIVE SHEAR VALUES OF 30-45 KTS. AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE... MOISTURE TRANSPORT IS INCREASING WITH MAX THETA E IN THE I-20 CORRIDOR AND NORTH. THEREFORE... SOME ORGANIZED LINE SEGMENTS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING WITH SOME HIGH WIND POTENTIAL. HAVE INCREASED POPS NORTH INTO THE LIKELY RANGE AND ADJUSTED HOURLY TEMPS BASED ON CLOUDS AND RAIN CHANCES. WILL ADJUST SEVERE THREAT IN THE HWO TO GENERALLY THE NORTH HALF OF THE AREA WITH STRONG MENTIONED SOUTH. 75 && .AVIATION...12Z TAF DISCUSSION. FOG AND LOW CLOUDS WILL BURN OFF QUICKLY AT ALL BUT TOI. LOOK FOR THIS TOO DISSIPATE BY 14Z. FOR TODAY...LOOK FOR SCATTERED TO PERHAPS LIKELY SHOWERS ESPECIALLY FURTHER NORTH. HAVE LEFT IN VCTS FOR THE NORTHERN SITES AND JUST CB FOR MGM AND TOI. DID GO AHEAD AND INCLUDE TEMPO AFTER 18Z IN THE NORTH FOR TSRA...FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. EVERYTHING REALLY DEPENDS ON CONVECTION TO THE WEST AS THE TROUGH MOVES THROUGH. WV SAT SHOWS THE TROUGH DIGGING...SO GROWING IN SOME CONFIDENCE THAT THE STORMS WILL MOVE FURTHER SOUTH TODAY...BUT OVERALL COVERAGE AND CONFIDENCE HAS BEEN SHUNTED FROM THE PREVIOUS DAYS. ENDING PRECIPITATION CHANCES AFTER 2 TO 3Z...WITH MVFR AFTER 6Z FOR EET...ANB...TCL...AND TOI. NOTICE...KEET TAF WILL HAVE (AMD LTD TO VIS WIND AND WX) AMENDED TO THE END OF THE FORECAST THROUGH THE END OF 2010. THE CEILOMETER DATA WILL BE GOING THROUGH NUMEROUS TEST AND MONITORED FOR ACCURACY. && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 600 AM CDT TUE JUL 13 2010 ALZ011>015-017>050-141100- AUTAUGA-BARBOUR-BIBB-BLOUNT-BULLOCK-CALHOUN-CHAMBERS-CHEROKEE- CHILTON-CLAY-CLEBURNE-COOSA-DALLAS-ELMORE-ETOWAH-FAYETTE-GREENE-HALE- JEFFERSON-LAMAR-LEE-LOWNDES-MACON-MARENGO-MARION-MONTGOMERY-PERRY- PICKENS-PIKE-RANDOLPH-RUSSELL-SHELBY-ST CLAIR-SUMTER-TALLADEGA- TALLAPOOSA-TUSCALOOSA-WALKER-WINSTON- 600 AM CDT TUE JUL 13 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MOST OF CENTRAL ALABAMA...WITH A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM FAYETTE TO AUBURN...MAINLY BETWEEN NOON AND 9 PM. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND HEAVY RAINFALL...RESULTING IN LOCALIZED FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1049 AM CDT TUE JUL 13 2010 ALZ011-014-131630- MARION AL-WINSTON AL- 1049 AM CDT TUE JUL 13 2010 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR MARION AND WESTERN WINSTON COUNTIES UNTIL 1130 AM CDT... AT 1045 AM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR TREMONT...OR 13 MILES NORTHWEST OF HAMILTON... MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... HAMILTON... HALEYVILLE... LYNN... WESTON... HACKLEBURG... 27
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 52 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:03 UTC.
9 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A few trees were blown down along highway 187.
One tree blown onto a home along highway 253.
Power lines were blown down near the Pebble community.
Trees and power lines were blown, partially down blocking Page Springs Road.
One tree down across county highway 25 at Hinds Road.
A tree was blown down across Alabama Highway 67.
One tree blown down onto a power pole along Gazaway Road.
Numerous reports of trees down including at the intersection of Sand Valley Road and Cox Valley Road, across Fairview Road East of Reece City, and across Keener Gap Road.
Trees were blown down on Gilley Road near the Ballplay community.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, July 2010
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: 253319, 253322, 253326, 253328, 253329, 253330, 253332, 253336, 253337.