A weak warm front moved northwest across north Alabama during the evening of July 13th, resulting in an isolated severe thunderstorm that produced some wind damage and flash flooding in Lauderdale County, Alabama.
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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 warm front moved northwest across north Alabama during the evening of July 13th, resulting in an isolated severe thunderstorm that produced some wind damage and flash flooding in Lauderdale County, 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 13, 8:17 PM CST, 18 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 917 PM CDT SAT JUL 13 2013 .UPDATE... MADE SOME MINOR TWEAKS TO DEWPOINTS AND SKY COVER...OTHERWISE CURRENT FCST LOOKS ON TRACK ATTM. && .DISCUSSION... A LINE OF SHRA/TSRA ACROSS NW AL WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NW THIS EVENING. THE LINE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A BOUNDARY THAT IS MOVING ARND THE UPPER LOW OVER SRN IL. NO SVR WX IS EXPECTED WITH THIS LINE OF STORMS...BUT LOCALIZED HVY RA AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE IN SOME STORMS. THIS LINE WILL CONTINUE WEAKEN AND DISSIPATE BY 11 PM IF NOT A LITTLE SOONER. BUT IR STLT SHOWS A FEW MORE BOUNDARIES THAT WILL LIKELY MOVE ACROSS THE CWA OVERNIGHT. THUS WILL KEEP THE CHC POPS ACROSS THE AREA. AGAIN THE THREAT OF SVR WX OVERNIGHT ACROSS THE TN VALLEY LOOKS LOW. 07 && .AVIATION... /ISSUED 624 PM CDT SAT JUL 13 2013/ FOR 00Z TAFS...AN UPPER LOW OVER SRN IL WILL CONTINUE TO PUMP PLENTY OF MOISTURE INTO THE TN VALLEY TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. AS A RESULT THE CHC OF SHRA/TSRA WILL INCREASE ESPECIALLY ARND 09Z TONIGHT AT BOTH TAF SITES. THE BEST CHC OF PCPN WILL BE BETWEEN 15Z AND 00Z SUNDAY. EXPECT MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS THRU 15Z...WITH MVFR CONDITONS AFTER 15Z DUE TO SHRA/TSRA. 07 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 325 PM CDT SAT JUL 13 2013/ THE MOISTURE IS ON THE WAY BACK. JUST OVER 24 HOURS AFTER DRIER AIR PUSHED INTO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY REGION, ATLANTIC MOISTURE IS ALREADY PUSHING WESTWARD INTO NORTHEAST ALABAMA. DEWPOINTS IN WINCHESTER, SCOTTSBORO, AND GADSDEN ARE BACK TO 70 DEGREES, WHILE MEMPHIS IS SITTING AT 56. AS NOTED IN THE MORNING DISCUSSION, A WEAK CONVERGENCE AXIS EXISTS ALONG A SW-NE AXIS, FROM MOBILE, TO WEST OF BIRMINGHAM, INTO NORTHEAST ALABAMA. STORMS ARE FIRING ALL ALONG THIS BOUNDARY IN ALABAMA AND TENNESSEE, THOUGH COVERAGE HAS BEEN FAIRLY PALTRY IN THE LOCAL AREA. ALOFT, THE DEEP TROPICAL MOISTURE FETCHES ARE EASILY NOTED ON WATER VAPOR SATELLITE...AS IS THE UPPER LOW, CURRENTLY CENTERED NEAR EVANSVILLE IN. HOPEFULLY FOLKS WHO ENJOY THE RELATIVELY COOL AND DRY WEATHER HAVE GOTTEN OUT AND ENJOYED IT TODAY, BECAUSE MOISTURE WILL REALLY SURGE INTO THE REGION TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. PRECIPITABLE WATER--CURRENTLY 1-1.4 INCHES IN A WEST-EAST GRADIENT--WILL INCREASE TO AROUND 2 INCHES BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. OBVIOUSLY DEEP-LAYER MOISTURE TRANSPORT AND LOW-LEVEL THETA-E ADVECTION WILL BE QUITE STRONG, AS WILL LOWER- LEVEL MOISTURE CONVERGENCE. THEREFORE, WILL CONTINUE THE RAPID RAMPING UP OF POPS OVERNIGHT, WITH HIGHEST VALUES IN THE EAST, AND HIGH-END LIKELY POPS TOMORROW. WHILE MODEL QPF IS NOT TERRIBLY HIGH WITH THIS SYSTEM, IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT AN INTENSIFYING LOW-LEVEL JET (YES, A LOW-LEVEL JET IN JULY) TOMORROW AFTERNOON/EVENING COULD EASILY INTERACT WITH A MESOSCALE BOUNDARY AND VERY MOIST ATMOSPHERE TO CREATE A FLASH FLOODING CONCERN ON AN ISOLATED BASIS. OTHERWISE, WITH THE INCREASING CLOUDS AND RAIN, THIS MORNING'S BELOW-NORMAL LOWS WILL QUICKLY BECOME A MEMORY. MOS CONSENSUS BRINGS LOWS INTO THE UPPER 60S TONIGHT (THOUGH FOLKS IN NW ALABAMA COULD QUICKLY DROP THIS EVENING WITH SOME CLEARING THEN REBOUND), WHILE HIGHS TOMORROW WILL PROBABLY BE LIMITED IN THE MID 80S. RAIN WILL LINGER INTO SUNDAY EVENING, BUT THE BUILDING UPPER HIGH WILL QUICKLY SHUNT THE MOISTURE FLOW (AND FAST-RETROGRADING UPPER LOW) WESTWARD, MAKING FOR DRIER--BUT NOT TOTALLY DRY--CONDITIONS FOR THE WORK WEEK. THAT HIGH WILL SIT OVER THE OHIO VALLEY FOR MUCH OF THE WEEK, LEAVING THE TENNESSEE VALLEY IN AN ANOMALOUS EASTERLY FLOW ALOFT. IT IS DOUBTFUL THAT THE SUBSIDENCE WILL BE ROBUST ENOUGH TO KILL RAIN CHANCES, PARTICULARLY WITH MOISTURE CONTINUING TO STREAM INTO THE REGION, SO LOW-END DIURNAL POPS WILL CONTINUE DURING THIS TIME FRAME. HOWEVER, HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL REACH INTO THE MID 90S BY WEDNESDAY, WITH HEAT INDEX READINGS EXCEEDING 100. MODEST CHANGES IN DEWPOINT COULD EASILY SEND THE HEAT INDEX TO DANGEROUS LEVELS. THE RIDGE WILL EVENTUALLY SPILL BACK TO THE EAST IN RESPONSE TO A CANADIAN TROUGH AND WEAK UPPER DISTURBANCE OVER THE NORTHERN GULF. THAT COULD MEAN AN INCREASE IN RAIN CHANCES AGAIN, BUT GIVEN SOME SPREAD IN THE MEDIUM-RANGE MODELS, HAVE OPTED JUST TO GO WITH MORE CONSISTENT POPS INSTEAD OF DIURNAL ONES FOR THE TIME BEING. THE HEAT MAY EASE SOMEWHAT, BUT MOS TENDS TO DROP TEMPERATURES A LITTLE TOO QUICKLY IN RESPONSE TO DECREASING HEIGHTS, SO PERSISTENCE (LOW-MID 90S/LOW-MID 70S) WILL BE THE RULE FOR TEMPERATURES HEADING INTO NEXT WEEKEND. BCC && .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 910 PM CDT SAT JUL 13 2013 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-131000- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL- LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 910 PM CDT SAT JUL 13 2013 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. RESIDUAL RIVER FLOODING WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PROBLEM ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTHERN ALABAMA THROUGH TONIGHT...MAINLY ALONG THE TENNESSEE RIVER. FOR MORE INFORMATION...PLEASE REFER TO SPECIFIC RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN EFFECT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... ISOLATED TO SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS RETURN TO THE FORECAST FROM SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE HEAVY RAINFALL AND GUSTY WINDS. .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
851 PM CDT SAT JUL 13 2013
ALZ001-140230-
LAUDERDALE AL-
851 PM CDT SAT JUL 13 2013
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL LAUDERDALE COUNTY UNTIL
930 PM CDT...
AT 848 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR KILLEN...OR 8 MILES EAST OF
UNDERWOOD-PETERSVILLE...MOVING WEST AT 10 MPH.
HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF PEAS AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH WILL BE
POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
FLORENCE...UNDERWOOD-PETERSVILLE...KILLEN AND SAINT FLORIAN.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL BE CAPABLE OF KNOCKING DOWN SMALL TREE
LIMBS...ALONG WITH OTHER SMALL UNSECURED ITEMS. SEEK SAFE SHELTER
UNTIL THIS STORM HAS PASSSED.
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 3501 8779 3500 8751 3497 8743 3482 8749
3483 8753 3482 8759 3481 8759 3485 8785
TIME...MOT...LOC 0148Z 107DEG 9KT 3492 8755
09The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 129 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:35 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees were downed due to thunderstorm winds.
Flash flooding occurred with two homes flooded and water rescues made along County roads 63 and 65, with more flash flooding occurring along Bridge and Briarwood roads near Killen, Alabama. Around four feet of flowing water was measured in these areas.
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, July 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: 468836, 468837.