Abundant low level moisture and strong daytime heating combined to produce isolated strong to severe thunderstorms over portions of northern 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.
Abundant low level moisture and strong daytime heating combined to produce isolated strong to severe thunderstorms over portions of northern 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 Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 2, 11:23 PM CST, 37 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1223 AM CDT SUN JUL 3 2011 .UPDATE...FOR 06Z AVIATION. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT HSV/MSL THRU THE FORECAST PERIOD. FEW HIGH-BASED CU BTWN 5-7 KFT AND SCT AC/CI CAN BE EXPECTED THRU THE PERIOD...ALONG WITH LIGHT/VRBL WINDS. BASED ON PERSISTENCE...WILL INCLUDE A 2-HOUR TEMPO GROUP FOR MVFR VSBY /5SM BR/ AT MSL BTWN 03/10-12Z. A FEW SHRA/TSRA MAY IMPACT LOCATIONS TO THE SOUTH/EAST OF HSV TOMORROW AFTERNOON...BUT CONFIDENCE IS TOO LOW TO PLACE CB IN THE FORECAST ATTM. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 951 PM CDT SAT JUL 2 2011/ THE CURRENT FIRST PERIOD FORECAST IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION THIS EVENING...WITH NO CHANGES REQUIRED AT THIS TIME. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && 70/DD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 100 PM CDT SAT JUL 2 2011 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-031015- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 100 PM CDT SAT JUL 2 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. HOT CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES CLIMBING INTO THE MID TO UPPER 90S. THOSE WITH OUTDOOR WORK OR OTHER ACTIVITIES PLANNED SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION. AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE BEGINNING ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. STORM COVERAGE MAY BE GREATEST ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS A WEAK COLD FRONT MOVES INTO THE REGION. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. KDW
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 106 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:58 UTC.
2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Large tree limbs were reported blown around.
Nickel sized hail was reported.
Quarter sized hail was reported at Big Ridge on Smith Lake.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, July 2011
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: 335724, 335718, 335726.