A slow moving upper level low pressure system resulted in several prolonged periods of heavy rainfall across the Tennessee Valley. There were a few reports of flooding in Marshall and Morgan counties in North Alabama due to the heavy rainfall.
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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 slow moving upper level low pressure system resulted in several prolonged periods of heavy rainfall across the Tennessee Valley. There were a few reports of flooding in Marshall and Morgan counties in North Alabama due to the heavy rainfall.
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 May 6, 5:11 AM CST, 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 611 AM CDT MON MAY 6 2013 .UPDATE... FOR 12Z TAFS && .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 238 AM CDT MON MAY 6 2013/ WATER VAPOR AND MOSAIC RADAR IMAGERY SHOW THE UPPER LOW CENTERED NEAR BRIDGEPORT AL AT THIS HOUR. THE COMMA CLOUD WITH COOLING TOPS IS PRODUCING MDT RAIN RATES OF 0.15-0.35/HR WITHIN THE HEAVIEST BAND MOVING ACROSS LINCOLN/MOORE COUNTY IN TN THROUGH MARSHALL COUNTY IN AL. GIVEN SATURATED SOILS, ALREADY ELEVATED CREEK AND STREAM LEVELS FROM THE OVERALL WEEKEND RAINFALL, AND THE COMPLEX TERRAIN OF SRN TN AND NERN AL, WILL BE HOISTING A FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY FOR AREAS ALONG AND EAST OF I-65. THE SHORT RANGE MODELS, INCLUDING THE RAP AND LOCAL WRF, INDICATE RAINFALL OF 1-2 INCHES TODAY, AND WE COULD EXCEED THAT IN A FEW SPOTS IF STATIONARY DEFORMATION BANDS WITHIN THE COMMA CLOUD DEVELOP. THE PRECIP CHCS ARE SOMEWHAT LOWER IN OUR FAR NWRN AL COUNTIES, AND CONFIDENCE IN EXCESSIVE RAIN IS LOWER IN THESE AREAS. NEEDLESS TO SAY, TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN UNSEASONABLY COOL AS A RESULT, ESPECIALLY EAST OF I-65 WHERE RAIN WILL OCCUR MOST OF THE DAY. HAVE SIDED WITH THE NAM/METMOS VALUES. WILL MAINTAIN SOME LINGERING RAIN IN OUR EASTERN COUNTIES THIS EVENING, THEN FOLLOW UP WITH PATCHY FOG WHICH COULD BECOME DENSE IF WE TOTALLY CLEAR OUT (UNLIKELY AT THIS POINT). THE SREF/NAM/GFS PROG THIS SYS TO INGEST MORE DRIER AIR ON TUESDAY FROM THE RIDGE AXIS BUILDING IN FROM THE WEST, BUT WILL KEEP A 20 POP IN OUR EASTERN ZONES. FEW CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE REST OF THE FORECAST AS THE UPPER LOW EXITS THE REGION AND A WELCOME WARMUP OCCURS THRU MID WEEK. HOWEVER, RAIN CHANCES STILL LOOK WARRANTED MOVING INTO THE LATE WEEK/WEEKEND PERIOD AS SHORTWAVES BREAK INTO THE RIDGE POSN. THIS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER SHOT OF UNSEASONABLY COOL AIR LATE SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY. KULA && .AVIATION... FOR 12Z TAFS... POOR FLYING CONDITIONS CONTINUE TODAY AT KHSV...WITH RAIN IMPACTING THE TERMINAL THROUGH LATE THIS AFTERNOON. CONDS THIS MORNING MAY TEMPORARILY BE IFR/WARRANT ADDITIONAL FUEL WITH VSBYS OF 2SM AND CEILINGS BETWEEN 500-1000FT. CONDS WILL IMPROVE THROUGH THE DAY AS SHOWERS BECOME WIDELY SCATTERED THIS AFTN. AT KMSL...THOUGH CEILINGS ARE CURRENTLY BETWEEN 500-1000FT...A BRIEF BREAK FROM THE SHOWERS WILL OCCUR UNTIL LATE THIS MORNING. WHILE SHOWERS WILL BE IN THE VICINITY OF THE TERMINAL...A MORE ORGANIZED ROUND WILL NOT ARRIVE UNTIL THIS AFTN. OTHERWISE...AT BOTH TERMINALS AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT...PATCHY FOG IS LIKELY. HOW DENSE IT WILL BE WILL DEPEND ON HOW MUCH CLEARING OCCURS. 12 && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR ALZ005>010-016. TN...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR TNZ076-096-097. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 328 AM CDT MON MAY 6 2013 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-061800- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 328 AM CDT MON MAY 6 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT... HEAVY RAINFALL AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR AGAIN TODAY AS A STRONG UPPER LOW CONTINUES TO LINGER OVERHEAD. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO TWO INCHES ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THIS EVENING. A FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR COUNTIES ALONG AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 65 THROUGH 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING. THIS ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL AGGRAVATE ONGOING FLOODING ACROSS THE AREA. PLEASE REFER TO FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR YOUR LOCAL AREA FOR MORE INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FROM FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY AS A WEAK COLD FRONT AFFECTS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREATS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. 12
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rainfall produced flooding from the Paint Rock River along Butler Mill Road, about three miles northwest of Grant, Alabama.
Heavy rainfall produced flooding just southwest of Albertville, Alabama along Whiteoak Road and Needmore Road. The bridge between Douglas and Albertville, Alabama, was underwater and closed due to the flooding.
Heavy rainfall produced flooding near Boaz, Alabama, as the streets were closed due to high water at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Willow Streets.
Heavy rainfall resulted in flooding about one mile south of Albertville at South Broad Street from Bobo Street to College Street. Under one foot of water was over the roads.
Heavy rainfall produced flooding with three to four feet of water covering the road in the 900 block of Lower Dry Creek Road, just west-northwest of Lacey's Spring, Alabama.
Heavy rainfall produced flooding just south of Triana, Alabama, with three to four feet of water covering the road on Shop Ford Road near Ballingere Private Drive.
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, May 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: 443670, 443671, 443672, 443669, 443673, 443674.