A long-lived mesoscale convective system that contained heavy rain and thunderstorms enveloped the region during the late evening and overnight hours. The initial wave of thunderstorms produced some isolated wind damage.
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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 long-lived mesoscale convective system that contained heavy rain and thunderstorms enveloped the region during the late evening and overnight hours. The initial wave of thunderstorms produced some isolated wind damage. Ahead of the line, gusty southeasterly winds caused isolated wind damage as well. 24 hour rainfall amounts from this system reached 3 to over 5 inches. A daily record rainfall of 3.93 inches was recorded in Huntsville. Runoff and flash flooding from the heavy rainfall began during the late evening on the 29th and lasted through the morning hours of the 30th. The runoff pushed several small creeks and streams out of their banks, flooding several roads, and submerging a few vehicles in the process. Hardest hit areas were in Morgan and Madison counties. Several county schools were delayed due to the high water and impassible roadways.
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 Nov 29, 9:44 PM CST, 41 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 944 PM CST MON NOV 29 2010 .UPDATE...NO MAJOR CHANGES TO FCST. && .DISCUSSION...WARM FRONT STRETCHES FROM SE AL TO NW MS...WHILE CDFNT EXTENDS FROM A SFC LOW OVER NE IA THRU ERN MO AND INTO CENTRAL AR. AS THE WARM FRONT MOVES NE TONIGHT THE CHANCE OF SHRA/TSRA WILL INCREASE WITH SOME STORMS BECOMING SEVERE...DUE TO 50 KT LOW LEVEL JET AND VERY HIGH SHEAR VALUES. THUS WIND DAMAGE AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE BEGINNING ARND 1 AM OVER THE NWRN PORTIONS OF AL AND THEN SPREADING EAST DURING THE EARLY MRNG HOURS. THE SEVERE THREAT SHOULD END BY 7 AM OVER NW AL...ARND 9 AM OVER THE HSV AREA AND BY 11 AM IN EXTREME NERN AL. HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH SOME STORMS. && PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 301 PM CST MON NOV 29 2010/ LATEST WATER VAPOR IMAGERY AND H5 RUC ANALYSIS INDICATE A RIDGE- TROUGH-RIDGE PATTERN PREVAILS ACROSS THE CONUS. FOR THIS FORECAST...ALL EYES ARE FOCUSED ON THE SURFACE LOW CURRENTLY OVER EXTREME SOUTHWEST IOWA. WELL AHEAD OF THIS LOW...A WARM FRONT IS SLOWLY ADVANCING NORTHWARD ACROSS CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA AS INDICATED BY AN INITIAL WAVE OF SHOWERS AND DEWPOINTS IN THE MID 50S. CLOSER TO THE FRONT...DEWPOINTS ARE ACTUALLY SURGING INTO THE LOW 60S. MUCH OF TODAY HAS BEEN DOMINATED BY GUSTY SOUTHEAST WINDS AS A 6-7MB SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT COMBINES WITH A 40KT JET AT 2-3KM AGL /PER GWX VAD/. WIND GUSTS HAVE APPROACHED 30 MPH AT TIMES...AND EXPECT THIS TO CONTINUE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. THE FORECAST FOR THE NEXT 36 HOURS REFLECTS THE WARM FRONT LIFTING THROUGH THE AREA...FOLLOWED BY A SHARP COLD FRONT ARRIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT...AND FINISHING OFF WITH A SURGE OF MUCH COLDER AIR ARRIVING JUST AS THE BULK OF THE MOISTURE DEPARTS THE AREA TUESDAY NIGHT. THE GRIDS WERE IN GOOD SHAPE AND ONLY A FEW CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE SHORT TERM...MAINLY TO INCREASE WINDS A BIT AND MENTION LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. FOR THIS EVENING...SHOWERS WITH SCATTERED /PERHAPS EVEN ISOLATED/ THUNDERSTORMS WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA ASSOCIATED WITH THE WARM FRONT. NONE OF THIS ACTIVITY WILL BE SEVERE...BUT THE GUSTY WINDS WILL INCREASE THROUGH THE EVENING...ESPECIALLY AS AN EVEN STRONGER PUNCH OF LOW LEVEL WINDS MOVES INTO THE AREA BY 03Z. WHILE SOME OF THE GREATEST GUSTS OVER THE HIGHEST TERRAIN COULD APPROACH 40 OR 45 MPH...THESE SPEEDS SHOULD GENERALLY BE CONFINED TO ELEVATIONS ABOVE 1500 FEET...SO WILL FORGO A WIND ADVISORY ATTM...BUT MAY ULTIMATELY HOIST ONE BEFORE THE DAY IS DONE. THE EXPECTED PROGRESSION AND IMPACTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE COLD FRONT REMAIN LARGELY UNCHANGED. A SQUALL LINE WITH EMBEDDED SCATTERED THUNDER WILL TRACK THROUGH THE CWFA AFTER MIDNIGHT. 12Z MODELS SUGGEST THIS LINE WILL MOVE THROUGH NORTHWEST ALABAMA BETWEEN 2 TO 5AM...AND THEN INTO THE MADISON COUNTY METRO AREA AROUND DAYBREAK...AND PUSH THROUGH NORTHEAST ALABAMA BY 10AM. SHEAR REMAINS EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE AHEAD OF THE FRONT /WITH A 70KT JET AT H85/...BUT SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY IS VIRTUALLY NIL AS LOW LEVEL FLOW MAINTAINS A SOUTHEASTERLY COMPONENT. BECAUSE OF THIS...SOUNDINGS SUGGEST A PREFRONTAL INVERSION UP TO ABOUT 900 MB /OR ABOUT 3K FEET/...WHICH SHOULD EFFECTIVELY LIMIT THE ABILITY OF ANY PREFRONTAL PARCEL TO BECOME SURFACE BASED...AND THEREFORE UNABLE TO TAP INTO THE ROTATIONAL SHEAR AT THE LOWEST LEVELS. A SURGE OF HIGHER DEWPOINTS JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONT SHOULD ERASE MUCH OF THE INVERSION AS THE SQUALL LINES MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. HOWEVER...THE LACK OF SURFACE BASED CAPE WILL LIMIT THE HAIL THREAT AS WELL AS THE VERTICAL EXTENT OF STORMS WITHIN THE LINE. DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT AS THE LINE MOVES THROUGH TONIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY...ALTHOUGH WE COULD SEE SOME TORNADIC DEVELOPMENT EMBEDDED WITHIN THE LINE. BOTH OF THESE THREATS ARE MENTIONED IN THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK. WE COULD ALSO SEE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL DEVELOP TONIGHT AND LINGER THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS AHEAD OF THE FRONT AS PWATS INCREASE TO AOA 1.5 INCHES COINCIDENT WITH A THETAE RIDGE AND GOOD MOISTURE TRANSPORT. WHILE THE OVERALL SYSTEM SHOULD MOVE THROUGH QUICKLY GIVEN THE AMPLE WIND SPEEDS ALOFT AND REDUCE THE THREAT OF TRAINING ACTIVITY...THE INDIVIDUAL CELLS SHOULD BE ABLE TO QUICKLY PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL. HAVE A MENTION OF ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING /ESPECIALLY OVER THE TERRAIN/ IN THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK TO HIGHLIGHT THIS THREAT. THE SQUALL LINE WILL BE SOUTHEAST OF THE CWFA BY NOON ON TUESDAY...BUT SOUNDINGS SUGGEST MOISTURE AND LINGERING SHOWERS WILL REMAIN AS TEMPERATURES FALL POST-FRONTAL. THE MAIN FORECAST QUESTION FOR TUESDAY EVENING CENTERS AROUND POSSIBLE WRAP-AROUND MOISTURE IN CONCERT WITH COLD AIR ARRIVING FROM THE NORTHWEST. FOR SEVERAL DAYS NOW...BUFR SOUNDINGS HAVE INDICATED NEARLY SATURATED PROFILES COLDER THAN 0C ACROSS THE NORTHEASTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWFA FOR ELEVATIONS GREATER THAN ABOUT 4K FEET. HOWEVER...THE CURRENT SET OF 12Z MODELS HAVE BACKED OFF ON THIS MOISTURE...AND SINCE OUR ELEVATIONS ONLY GO UP TO 2K FEET...HAVE A HARD TIME BELIEVING THERE WILL BE MUCH IN THE WAY OF MIXED PRECIPITATION TUESDAY EVENING...HOWEVER...WILL KEEP IT IN THE FORECAST FOR THE TIME-BEING AND SEE HOW THE COLD AIR/MOISTURE PAN OUT OVERNIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING. BY WEDNESDAY...THE FORECAST STARTS TO SETTLE DOWN AS RIDGING BUILDS INTO THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST. WHILE A SHORTWAVE TROUGH EMBEDDED IN NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL TRAVERSE THE AREA THURSDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING...PALTRY MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM IN THE LOW LEVELS SUGGESTS THE REMAINDER OF THE WORK WEEK WILL BE DRY WITH TEMPERATURES SLOWLY MODERATING INTO THE WEEKEND. THE NEXT SYSTEM PROGGED TO IMPACT THE REGION WILL ARRIVE EARLY NEXT WEEK AS A SHORTWAVE OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS TRIES TO DIG DOWN AND IMPACT THE SOUTHEAST STATES. 12Z RUNS OF THE GFS/ECMWF DIFFER REGARDING TIMING OF THIS WAVE...AND GIVEN THE MAGNITUDE OF THE RIDGING OVER THE AREA DURING THE WEEKEND...WAS NOT INCLINED TO ADD ANY MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION TO THE FORECAST FOR THIS PERIOD. && .AVIATION.../FROM 00Z TAFS/NO CHANGES. SFC LOW OVER IOWA WITH CDFNT EXTENDING THRU WRN MO/AR. WARM FRONT NOW ACROSS SRN MS/AL/LA...WILL MOVE NORTH OVERNIGHT AND IS PROGGED TO BE ACROSS NRN AL ARND MIDNIGHT. THIS WARM FRONT WILL CONTINUE THE CHC OF SHRA/TSRA INTO TUESDAY MRNG AT BOTH KMSL/KHSV. MAINLY IFR AND MVFR CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED THRU 16Z. AFTER 16Z THE CDFNT WILL PUSH ACROSS THE TN VALLEY WITH THE SHRA ACTIVITY TAPERING OFF...WITH MAINLY MVFR CEILINGS. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && 007
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1015 PM CST MON NOV 29 2010 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-301100- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 1015 PM CST MON NOV 29 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT AS A WARM FRONT APPROACHES THE AREA. THE STORMS WILL BEGIN TO MOVE INTO NORTHWEST ALABAMA BETWEEN 1 AM AND 3 AM...ACROSS THE INTERSTATE 65 CORRIDOR BETWEEN 3 AM TO 5 AM AND NORTHEAST ALABAMA BETWEEN 5 AM AND 7 AM. THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN...BUT A FEW TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION TO THE SEVERE THREAT...BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL EXIST. SOUTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS APPROACHING 35 MPH WILL OCCUR. HIGHER ELEVATIONS COULD SEE GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... STRONG TO LOCALLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS TUESDAY AS A COLD FRONT TRACKS EASTWARD ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN WILL REMAIN THE PRIMARY THREATS...BUT CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR A FEW TORNADOES. THE SEVERE THREAT IS EXPECTED TO END WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE AREA BY MIDDAY TUESDAY. RAINFALL TOTALS OF ONE TO THREE INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS THE RAIN TAPERS OFF. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS LIKELY DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING.
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 46 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:13 UTC.
5 flash flood, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong non-thunderstorm winds knocked multiple trees down onto a garage and a fence on Barcody Road in southeast Huntsville.
Trees and power lines were knocked down.
Several trees were knocked down along College Street and Lemay Street in Town Creek resulting in downed telephone and cable lines. Time estimated by radar.
Several trees were knocked down along County Road 585 near Alabama Highway 20. Time estimated by radar.
Power lines were knocked down on Oscar Patterson Road in Moores Mill.
Trees down on Gillespie Road.
Flash flooding was reported on County Road 161.
Flash flooding was reported on County Road 203 in Speake.
Rainfall amounts of 2 to over 5 inches produced flash flooding of several roads. Many streets in the Hartselle and Decatur communities were flooded. Rainfall of 5.75 inches was measured in southwest Decatur. Some specific streets impacted in Decatur included Riverview Avenue SE, Poole Valley Road at Central Parkway SW, Ray Avenue SW, Bird Springs Road SW, Somerville Road SE at Magnolia and Corsbie Streets, Stratford Road at Country Club Road SE, Ben Poole Road at Crown Point Drive SE, Pennylane at Quince Drive SE, Cedar Lake Road at Central Parkway SW and Sandlin Road at Hay Drive SW. In the county, other roads included Gum Springs Road and Hobb Ward Road at Highway 36. Portions of highway 36 in the western portions of Hartselle and Forest Chapel Road were barricaded due to flash flooding.
Rainfall amounts from 3 to over 5 inches produced flash flooding on numerous roads in the Moores Mill, Huntsville, and Madison communities. According to the Huntsville Times, parts of Hampton Cove, Redstone Arsenal, Harvest, Meridian Street, Bob Wallace Avenue and Triana Boulevard were under water. A boulder was dislodged from soggy Huntsville Mountain and rolled onto Cecil Ashburn Drive. Rainfall of 5.67 inches was reported along Aldridge Creek in Farley. A motorist was stranded due to high water on the 300 block of Naugher Road. Two vehicles were swamped in high water from an overflowing drainage ditch on First Street in Huntsville near Brahan Spring Park.
Intense rainfall of around 2 inches produced flash flooding and prompted the closure of 45th Street in Fort Payne. Time estimated by radar.
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, November 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: 268916, 268912, 270014, 270015, 268914, 268913, 270012, 270013, 267950, 267951, 270011.