A band of strong thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon hours associated with a quick moving upper air disturbance. A moderately high shear and low instability environment supported supercell structure and small hail.
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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 band of strong thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon hours associated with a quick moving upper air disturbance. A moderately high shear and low instability environment supported supercell structure and small hail. One of the storms reached just below severe limits and produced small hail from eastern Limestone through central Madison and southern Jackson Counties.
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 Feb 22, 5:26 PM CST, 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 526 PM CST WED FEB 22 2012 .UPDATE... FOR 00Z TAFS && .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 332 PM CST WED FEB 22 2012/ LATEST ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS PROGRESSIVELY MOVING EASTWARD THROUGH EASTERN ARKANSAS INTO WEST TENNESSEE. RUC AND NAM BUFR SOUNDINGS AND SURFACE ANALYSIS INDICATE THAT SURFACE AND LOW LAYER DEWPOINTS ARE INCREASING ACROSS THE AREA TO THE LOWER TO MID 50S ALONG WITH LIFTED INDICES FALLING INTO THE -2 TO -4 RANGE. EXPECT SCATTERED STRONG TO POTENTIALLY SEVERE STORMS TO DEVELOP IN THE FORECAST AREA BY LATE AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING UNTIL AROUND 02Z ACROSS THE REGION. THE MAIN THREATS SHOULD BE LARGE HAIL AND LOCALLY DAMAGING WINDS...ALTHOUGH AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. AFTER THIS INITIAL UPPER TROUGH MOVES EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT...STRONG WARM ADVECTION WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY ACROSS THE AREA. DESPITE AN EXPECTED VEIL OF CLOUD COVER ACROSS THE REGION ON THURSDAY...TEMPS SHOULD WARM INTO GENERALLY THE LOWER TO MID 70S ACROSS THE AREA. THE TEMPS...COMBINED WITH MARGINALLY UNSTABLE CONDITIONS AND THE EASTWARD MOVEMENT OF A COLD FRONT THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA AND HIGHER HELICITY VALUES COULD SET THE STAGE FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA FROM AROUND THE 00-06Z TIME FRAME ON THURSDAY EVENING/OVERNIGHT. THE MAIN POTENTIAL THREATS WITH THIS EXPECTED LINE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT WOULD BE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND A FEW ISOLATED TORNADOES. AT THIS POINT...WILL GO WITH A COMPROMISE BETWEEN THE GFS AND ECMWF AND MORE IN LINE WITH THE NAM INVOLVING THE TIMING OF THE COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA. EXPECT THE SHOWERS TO SLOWLY COME TO AN END BEHIND THE FRONT ON FRIDAY...AS DECENT COLD ADVECTION SWEEPS INTO THE AREA. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION OVER THE WEEKEND WITH TEMPS GENERALLY IN LINE WITH THE GFS THROUGH MONDAY. THE MODELS THEN DIFFER INVOLVING THE EASTWARD MOVEMENT OF THE NEXT UPPER LOW ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS REGION BY 12Z TUESDAY. THE GFS AND ECMWF THEN HAVE THE UPPER LOW INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS BY 06Z WEDNESDAY AND A SURFACE COLD FRONT THROUGH CENTRAL MISSOURI THROUGH ARKANSAS TO NORTHEAST TEXAS DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD. HAVE CONTINUED WITH AT LEAST CHANCE TSRA POPS THROUGH TUESDAY AND INTO MUCH OF WEDNESDAY FOR THE AREA TO ACCOUNT FOR THE EXPECTED EASTWARD MOVEMENT OF THE FRONT. IF THE GFS SOLUTION DOES OCCUR...TEMPS WILL AGAIN BE WELL ABOVE NORMAL BY THE END OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD. TT && .AVIATION... FOR 00Z TAFS... A BROKEN LINE OF -TSRA WILL PUSH EAST TOWARDS THE HUNTSVILLE AIRPORT BETWEEN 23Z AND 00Z. FURTHER WEST...NO STORMS HAVE FORMED UPSTREAM OF KMSL...BUT COULD DEVELOP BETWEEN NOW AND 03Z. CONFIDENCE IS LOWER FURTHER WEST THAT A TSRA WILL COME WITHIN 5 MILES OF THE AIRPORT AT KMSL...SO WILL LEAVE ONLY CB AND SHRA IN FOR NOW. EXPECT MVFR CIGS...POSSIBLY IFR CIGS OR VSBYS TO DEVELOP IF HEAVIER STORMS MOVE OVER KHSV. EXPECT FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY STORMS BETWEEN 00Z AND 03Z AT BOTH SITES. VFR CONDITIONS SHOULD RETURN AFTER 03Z AT KMSL AND 04Z AT KHSV. VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE TAF PERIOD...WITH SOUTHERLY WINDS INCREASING OVERNIGHT AND DURING THE DAY ON THURSDAY. KTW && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1245 PM CST WED FEB 22 2012 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-230300- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 1245 PM CST WED FEB 22 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AREA. SOME STORMS COULD BE STRONG TO SEVERE...WITH HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS THE PRIMARY THREATS. AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT AS WELL. THE THUNDERSTORM THREAT IS EXPECTED TO END WEDNESDAY EVENING AS THE UPPER DISTURBANCE MOVES EAST OF THE AREA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... ANOTHER ROUND OF SEVERE WEATHER IS POSSIBLE THURSDAY NIGHT...AS A STRONG COLD FRONT SWEEPS ACROSS THE REGION. STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. PRESENT INDICATORS SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL FOR LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WITH ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. THUNDERSTORMS RETURN TO THE REGION LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY AS ANOTHER COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE AREA FROM THE WEST. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS IS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND AGAIN THURSDAY NIGHT. 12
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
517 PM CST WED FEB 22 2012
ALZ005-006-222345-
LIMESTONE-MADISON-
517 PM CST WED FEB 22 2012
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR LIMESTONE AND MADISON COUNTIES
UNTIL 545 PM CST...
AT 515 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A
CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS LOCATED NEAR TANNER...MOVING EAST AT
45 MPH.
PENNY SIZE HAIL...BRIEF WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH...AND FREQUENT CLOUD
TO GROUND LIGHTNING ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH INCLUDE...
FRENCH MILL.
CAPSHAW...MADISON.
REDSTONE ARSENAL.
HUNTSVILLE...UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE.
MOORES MILL.
REMEMBER...IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER...YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE
STORM TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. SEEK SAFE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
&&
LAT...LON 3463 8650 3464 8702 3466 8705 3467 8705
3469 8711 3470 8713 3475 8714 3482 8707
3486 8652
TIME...MOT...LOC 2316Z 267DEG 44KT 3473 8697The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:30 UTC.
2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Nickel sized hail was reported at the intersection of East Limestone Road and U.S. Highway 72.
Nickel sized hail was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, February 2012
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: 358167, 358168.