Heat in Alabama, July 7 to 9, 2010

Name: Heat in Alabama, July 7 to 9, 2010
Start: 2010-07-07T22:00
End: 2010-07-09T18:00
Location: Alabama

July 7 to 9, 2010 · NWS HUN · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

A period of hot weather was observed from the 7th through the 9th, with high temperatures reaching the upper 90s, with 100 to 102 degrees reported at a few locations on the 8th. Heat index values approached or reached 105 degrees.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 3
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS HUN wrote it up.

Heat stress became more dangerous as the daytime heat was preceded and followed by warm evenings in the 80s and overnight low temperatures only in the mid to upper 70s, especially in urban areas. The low temperature on the morning of 7th was as warm as 78 degrees at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (on site location of the National Weather Service).

What forecasters said that day

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 Jul 7, 8:39 PM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 7, 8:39 PM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
939 PM CDT WED JUL 7 2010

.UPDATE...FOR HEAT ADVISORY AND TEMP/DEWPOINT CHANGES.

&&

.DISCUSSION...AS THE RIDGE CURRENTLY OVER THE EASTERN U.S. SLIDES
SOUTHWEST OVER THE AL/GA...NIGHTTIME LOWS TONIGHT WILL ONLY COOL
TO NEAR 75 DEGREES. FURTHERMORE...DAYTIME HIGHS TOMORROW WILL
LIKELY RISE TO OR NEAR 100 DEGREES ACROSS TN VALLEY. MOS GUIDANCE
IS INDICATING 97-99 DEGREES AND FEEL THAT IT WILL NOT TAKE MUCH TO
PUSH THE TEMP UP TO 100. DEWPOINTS ROSE SHARPLY TONIGHT AS
DECOUPLING TOOK PLACE. THUS...INCREASED DEWPOINTS AND TEMPS FOR
TONIGHT AND TOMORROW.

SOME SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR SHOULD MIX DOWN FROM ALOFT TOMORROW
AFTERNOON AND CAUSE DEWPOINTS TO DROP OFF SOMEWHAT. HOWEVER...HEAT
INDICES WILL STILL BE BETWEEN 100-107 ACROSS THE AREA.

THEREFORE...GIVEN THE EXPECTED DAYTIME HIGHS AND NIGHTTIME
LOWS...HAVE DECIDED TO ISSUE A HEAT ADVISORY FROM NOW UNTIL 12Z
FRIDAY MORNING.

HEAT STRESS LEVELS WILL BE HIGH DURING THIS TIME PERIOD AND
RESIDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO TAKE EXTRA STEPS TO STAY COOL
TOMORROW.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED AT 223 PM CDT WED JUL 7 2010/

WENT WITH NAM FOR SHORT TERM FCST AND GFS FOR LONG TERM.

SCT SHOWERS HAVE FORMED ALONG A WEAK 8H CONVERGENCE ZONE WHICH WAS
MAINLY WEST OF I65. TEMPS ACROSS THE TN VALLEY WERE ARND 90 WITH
DEWPOINTS IN THE MID/UPPER 60S. OTHERWISE UPPER HIGH IS NOW OVER
ERN VA WITH CDFNT EXTENDING FROM MN THRU CENTRAL KS. THE TROPICAL
DISTURBANCE OVER THE WRN GULF OF MEXICO CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN
AND MAY BECOME A TROPICAL DEPRESSION ON THURSDAY.

TONIGHT...SCT SHRA/ISOLATED TSRA...WILL DISSIPATE SOON AFTER
SUNSET AS OVERNIGHT LOWS BOTTOM OUT ARND 70.

THURSDAY...CDFNT NOW OVER THE MIDWEST WILL EDGE A LITTLE CLOSER AND
SHOULD BE LOCATED OVER SERN MO BY THE EVENING HOURS. UPPER RIDGE
WILL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE AREA AND WILL KEEP THE CHC OF PCPN
TO A MINIMUM. STILL CANT RULE OUT SOME ISOLATED SHRA/TSRA...BUT
FOR NOW WILL LEAVE THIS PERIOD DRY. MOS VALUES ARE SHOWING A VERY
HOT DAY...BUT ATTM IT LOOKS LIKE AFTN DEWPOINTS MAY MIX DOWN INTO
THE MID 60S. THIS WOULD KEEP HEAT INDICES IN THE 100 TO 105 DEGREE
RANGE...WHICH IS BELOW OUR HEAT ADVISORY CRITERIA.

FRIDAY THRU SUNDAY...CDFNT SHOULD CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTH ON FRIDAY
AND SHOULD BE SOUTH OF THE CWA BY SATURDAY EVENING...ACCORDING TO
GFS. THUS WILL KEEP CHC POPS IN FROM FRIDAY THRU SATURDAY AFTN.
REMOVED THE CHC OF PCPN FOR SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. DONT EXPECT
A LOT OF COOLER AIR WITH THE CDFNT PASSAGE...BUT WILL BE LESS
HUMID...ESPECIALLY ON SUNDAY.

MONDAY THRU THURSDAY...A COMBINATION OF AN UPPER TROF AND A WARM
FRONT WILL KEEP THE CHC OF SHRA/TSRA FOR THIS TIME FRAME. WILL
MAINTAIN CURRENT LOW POPS.

&&

.AVIATION.../FROM 00Z TAFS/ NO CHANGES. VFR CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS ACROSS N AL.

&&

.HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AL...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM CDT FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     COLBERT...CULLMAN...DEKALB...FRANKLIN AL...JACKSON...
     LAUDERDALE...LAWRENCE...LIMESTONE...MADISON...MARSHALL...
     MORGAN.

TN...HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM CDT FRIDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES:
     FRANKLIN TN...LINCOLN...MOORE.

&&

PREV DISCUSSION...07
UPDATE/AVIATION...SL.77

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 7, 5:44 PM CST, 4 hours 16 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
644 PM CDT WED JUL 7 2010

ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-081000-
LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN-
MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN-
644 PM CDT WED JUL 7 2010

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS
OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT...

HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL REMAIN IN THE LOW 90S TO NEAR 100 THROUGH THE
EVENING. THUS...USE CAUTION IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN ANY OUTDOOR
ACTIVITIES TONIGHT. HEAT STRESS LEVELS WILL REMAIN HIGH WITH
NIGHTTIME LOWS NEAR 75.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...

DAYTIME TEMPERATURES ON THURSDAY WILL BE CLOSE TO OR REACH 100
DEGREES WHICH WILL RESULT IN HEAT INDEX VALUES CLIMBING TO BETWEEN
100 AND 105 DEGREES. USE CAUTION IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN ANY OUTDOOR
ACTIVITIES. REMEMBER TO STAY HYDRATED AND TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS AWAY
FROM THE HEAT.

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AFTERNOON
AND SATURDAY AS A WEAKENING COLD FRONT CROSSES THE TENNESSEE VALLEY.
STRONGER STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BRIEF GUSTY WINDS AND
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED
AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL
IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

SL

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Lauderdale

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Lauderdale forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.901, -87.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Madison

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.763, -86.550 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Dekalb

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Dekalb forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.460, -85.804 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Limestone

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Limestone forecast zone
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 34.810, -86.981 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An elderly man collapsed due to heat illness in Athens on the 9th while walking outside, but fortunately was rescued by two bystanders who sought medical help immediately.

A high of 101 was observed at the NWS COOP station in Belle Mina.

Heat, Jackson

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.779, -85.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Morgan

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Morgan forecast zone
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.454, -86.853 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Cullman

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Cullman forecast zone
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.132, -86.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Marshall

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.367, -86.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Colbert

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Colbert forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.700, -87.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Franklin

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.442, -87.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Lawrence

When: July 7, 10:00 PM CST to July 9, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Lawrence forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.522, -87.311 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heat: Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alabama in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Alabama, July 2010

Sources

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: 230698, 230700, 230702, 231324, 253957, 253959, 253960, 253961, 253962, 253963, 253964.