A weak boundary interacted with a moderately unstable air mass to produce strong to severe pulse thunderstorms across Lauderdale, Colbert, and Franklin counties in northwestern Alabama. The stronger storms produced several instances of downed trees and powerlines.
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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 weak boundary interacted with a moderately unstable air mass to produce strong to severe pulse thunderstorms across Lauderdale, Colbert, and Franklin counties in northwestern Alabama. The stronger storms produced several instances of downed trees and powerlines.
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 27, 11:35 AM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1235 PM CDT THU MAY 27 2010 .UPDATE... 18Z AVIATION FORECAST. && .AVIATION... INSTABILITY AND DAYTIME HEATING HAS RESULTED IN CONVECTION FORMING ACROSS NW ALABAMA...ALONG A BOUNDARY EXTENDING NORTH/SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA. MORE SHOWER DEVELOPMENT IS POSSIBLE ACROSS NW ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON. ELSEWHERE...MAINLY ISOLATED IN COVERAGE IS EXPECTED INTO THE EVENING...WITH SHOWER ACTIVITY ENDING AROUND LOCAL MIDNIGHT. THE STRONGER STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. PATCHY FOG/MIST IS POSSIBLE FOR PREDAWN FRIDAY AT KMSL AND KHSV. MORE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED CONVECTION AGAIN IS POSSIBLE FRIDAY AFTERNOON...BEYOND THE VALID PORTION OF THIS FORECAST. && .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED AT 1029 AM CDT THU MAY 27 2010/ A LARGE SCALE BLOCKING PATTERN CONTINUES ACROSS THE GREATER NORTH AMERICAN DOMAIN...WITH UPPER LOW PRESSURE OFF OF THE PACIFIC NW COAST AND EAST OF THE CANADIAN MARITIMES...AND HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. A NORTHERLY MID/UPPER FLOW PREVAILED ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY...MOVING AROUND THE SOUTHERN PLAINS UPPER RIDGE. DAYTIME HEATING NOW PUSHING AIR TEMPS INTO THE UPPER 70S/LOWER 80S WHICH IS RESULTING IN CUMULUS FORMING ACROSS THE REGION. IN THIS PATTERN WITH STRONG DAYTIME HEATING...ADEQUATE MOISTURE AND SOME LIFT...EXPECT MORE CONVECTION TO FORM ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND DURING THE EVENING. A WEAK OUTFLOW BOUNDARY/TROUGH ASSOCIATED WITH YESTERDAY EVENINGS SHOWER ACTIVITY WAS PRESENT ACROSS NW ALABAMA. IT SHOULD SERVE AS A FOCAL POINT FOR MORE SHOWER AND STORM DEVELOPMENT. OTHER DEVELOPMENT WOULD BE MORE PROBABLE OVER AND IN THE VICINITY OF THE HIGHER ELEVATED TERRAIN. PRECIP WATER AMOUNTS OF ABOUT 1.3 INCHES PER THE REDSTONE SOUNDING...WITH BMX/ OHX/FFC SHOWING SIMILAR AMOUNTS THAT SHOULD HELP YIELD A STRONG STORM OR TWO...WITH THE PRIMARY RISK BEING GUSTY WINDS. WILL SEND OUT NEW UPDATES CLOSER TO THE NOON HOUR...TO BETTER REFLECT CLOUD TRENDS AND TEMPS...IF ANY CHANGES ARE NEEDED. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && RSB
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1255 PM CDT THU MAY 27 2010 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-280300- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 1255 PM CDT THU MAY 27 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON...MAINLY OVER NORTHWEST ALABAMA. ALTHOUGH SOME GUSTY WINDS AND BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE POSSIBLE IN ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP...SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM FRIDAY THROUGH THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND...AS HEAT AND HUMIDITY COMBINE WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE. ANY OF THE STORMS COULD BECOME STRONG WITH GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL...AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS. ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS CANNOT BE RULED OUT...WITH DAMAGING WINDS THE MAIN THREAT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE THROUGH MIDWEEK AS A SUMMER LIKE PATTERN CONTROLS THE FORECAST. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... FORMAL ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT TO THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS DURING THE UPCOMING HOLIDAY WEEKEND. RSB/JLL
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 103 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:39 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees and powerlines were reported downed in the Colbert Heights area, on Woodmont Drive and Bell road, and on Underwood Mountain road.
Trees were blown down in the northern portion of Russellville off of Hwy 43.
Six power poles were reported damaged at the Russellville Industrial Park. Utility personnel reported the damage was in a half of a mile area. They reported the center pole was reported broken off at the phone line connection. The other five poles around this center pole were blown down around the pole.
A tree was blown down on CR 85 near Cloverdale.
Three trees were blown down within one half of a mile of the intersection of CR 8 and Natchez Trace Parkway.
At least five trees were blown down in the Wright 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, May 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: 234804, 234808, 235622, 234811, 234810, 234812.