A weak nearly stationary frontal boundary was responsible for the development of widely scattered thunderstorms. One of the storms produced copius rainfall in less than an hour that resulted in flash flooding in Madison along and near the Mill Creek basin.
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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 nearly stationary frontal boundary was responsible for the development of widely scattered thunderstorms. One of the storms produced copius rainfall in less than an hour that resulted in flash flooding in Madison along and near the Mill Creek basin.
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 Aug 22, 1:26 PM CST, 2 hours 13 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 226 PM CDT THU AUG 22 2013 .DISCUSSION... THE 19Z SURFACE ANALYSIS ALONG WITH AREA 88-D RADARS AND VISIBLE/IR SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATED THAT THE WEAKENING BOUNDARY THAT HAS BEEN ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS WAS AGAIN RESPONSIBLE TODAY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF WIDELY SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA. THE LACK OF ANY UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT AND SLIGHTLY LESSENING PWAT VALUES ACROSS THE AREA SHOULD RESULT IN THE SHRA/TSRA EXPECTED TO DIE OUT BY THIS EVENING. THE SHORT TERM MODELS ARE SIMILAR AGAIN TODAY IN INDICATING THAT A SHORT WAVE AT 500 MILLIBARS WILL PROGRESSIVELY MOVE SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE NORTHWEST FLOW INTO THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY BY 12Z FRIDAY AND INTO THE FORECAST AREA BY 21Z FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY AT THE SURFACE WILL COINCIDE WITH THE MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE AND SHOULD MOVE THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA BY 00Z SATURDAY. EXPECT THAT THE FORECAST AREA WILL AGAIN SEE AT LEAST WIDELY SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE WEAK SHORTWAVE AND BOUNDARY...ESPECIALLY BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE NORTHEAST LOW LEVEL FLOW IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY DYING OUT NEAR THE FORECAST AREA SHOULD BE SHORT LIVED. BETWEEN SUNDAY AND MONDAY...THE GFS AND ECMWF MODELS REALLY BEGIN TO BUILD THE WELL ADVERTISED UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS. I WOULD NOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED SHRA/TSRA FOR THE MONDAY/TUESDAY TIME FRAME...BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE ENOUGH TO WARRANT ADDING TO THE FORECAST AT THIS TIME. WILL TREND MORE TOWARD A TEMPERATURE COMPROMISE BETWEEN THE GFS AND ECMWF THROUGH MONDAY. BY WEDNESDAY...THE GFS IS MORE PREDOMINANT INVOLVING MOVING A MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE AROUND THE PERIPHERY OF THE UPPER RIDGE INTO MAINLY EAST TENNESSEE...WITH A TRAILING EDGE OF PVA SHOWN MOVING THROUGH MIDDLE TENNESSEE. THE ECMWF MODEL IS MORE EASTWARD WITH ITS DEPICTION OF THE UPPER HIGH AND SHUNTS THE MID LEVEL SHORTWAVE MUCH FURTHER EAST TOWARD THE ATLANTIC COAST. THIS MAY NEED TO BE WATCHED AT THE END OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIODS...AND WILL PLAY A WAIT AND SEE ATTITUDE REGARDING THIS AND THE NEED FOR ANY PRECIP CHANCES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM. HAVE TRENDED MORE TOWARD THE HIGHER END OF MODEL GUIDANCE MORE TOWARD THE GFS TEMPS TOWARD THE LATTER PART OF THE EXTENDED PERIODS. TT && .AVIATION... /ISSUED 1233 PM CDT THU AUG 22 2013/ FOR 18Z TAFS...SCT/ISOL SHRA AND TSRA WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP IN THE REGION THRU THE AFTN HRS. WITHOUT A FRONT OR OTHER WAY OF TIMING IMPACTS TO THE TERMINALS HAVE KEPT WITH A VCTS ATTM AND WILL UPDATE THE FCST IF DIRECT IMPACTS TO THE TERMINALS BECOME MORE APPARENT. WOULD EXPECT WIND GUSTS AT MOST TO 20KTS AND HVY RAIN BRIEFLY CAUSING DROPS IN VIS OR CIGS TO ARND ALT REQ IF STORMS DIRECTLY IMPACT THE TERMINALS THOUGH. THE SCT DECK AOA 2500FT WILL PERIODICALLY FILL IN TO BKN AS DAYTIME HEATING AND STORM DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES BUT OVERALL CONDITIONS SHOULD AGAIN IMPROVE AFTER SUNSET. HAVE KEPT THE TEMPO MVFR FOG IN FOR EARLY TOMORROW MORNING...BUT TRENDS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MORNINGS FOR KEEPING P6SM VIS EVEN WITH RAINFALL/LINGERING MOISTURE KEEPS THAT QUESTIONABLE. CCC && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... HUNTSVILLE 69 93 68 93 / 10 20 20 10 SHOALS 67 91 67 93 / 10 20 20 10 VINEMONT 68 89 68 90 / 10 20 20 10 FAYETTEVILLE 67 89 67 90 / 10 30 20 10 ALBERTVILLE 68 89 68 90 / 10 20 20 10 FORT PAYNE 66 90 66 89 / 10 20 20 10 && .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 810 AM CDT THU AUG 22 2013 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-230300- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 810 AM CDT THU AUG 22 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY TODAY. BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND GUSTY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE STRONGER STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. A WEAK COLD FRONT IS FORECAST TO MOVE IN A NORTH TO SOUTH FASHION ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY LATE FRIDAY...BRINGING A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 424 PM CDT THU AUG 22 2013 ALZ005-006-222215- MADISON AL-LIMESTONE AL- 424 PM CDT THU AUG 22 2013 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR WESTERN MADISON AND SOUTHEASTERN LIMESTONE COUNTIES UNTIL 515 PM CDT... AT 423 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR MADISON...MOVING SOUTH AT 5 MPH. ANOTHER STRENGTHENING STORM IS LOCATED NORTH OF HUNTSVILLE...NORTHWEST OF ALABAMA A AND M UNIVERSITY. HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF PEAS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... HUNTSVILLE...MADISON...ALABAMA A AND M UNIVERSITY...AND REDSTONE ARSENAL. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... HEAVY RAINFALL OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM MAY LEAD TO MINOR FLOODING ON ROADS AND IN LOW LYING AREAS. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS. && LAT...LON 3478 8688 3488 8658 3466 8658 3459 8687 TIME...MOT...LOC 2122Z 346DEG 3KT 3470 8676 BCC
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 65 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:37 UTC.
1 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Nickel sized hail was reported at the intersection of Hughes road and Eastview drive near Madison, Alabama.
Flash flooding was occurring with up to a foot of water running across the roads at Madison public library at Plaza Boulevard where a vehicle was flooded. Flash flooding was also reported at the intersection of Wall Triana highway and Liberty Drive. Intense rainfall of 2.91 inches fell in north Madison very near where flooding was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, August 2013
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: 472667, 472668.