A cold front intersecting a warm and unstable environment led to a broken band of thunderstorms during the late afternoon and evening hours, some of which were supercellular in nature. These storms moved east-southeast at 35-45 mph and exited northern Alabama between 930 and 10 pm CDT.
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.
A cold front intersecting a warm and unstable environment led to a broken band of thunderstorms during the late afternoon and evening hours, some of which were supercellular in nature. These storms moved east-southeast at 35-45 mph and exited northern Alabama between 930 and 10 pm CDT. One tornado was confirmed in DeKalb County with a few narrow swaths of wind damage reported in other portions of north 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 Apr 3, 1:47 PM CST, 3 hours 49 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 247 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 .DISCUSSION... THE 19Z SURFACE ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT THE COLD FRONT WAS ANALYZED TO BE EXTENDING SOUTHWEST FROM ALONG THE OHIO RIVER IN WESTERN KENTUCKY...THROUGH THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND INTO CENTRAL ARKANSAS NEAR LITTLE ROCK. A LINE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS WERE DEVELOPING ALONG THE COLD FRONT...WITH A WIDELY SCATTERED AREA OF SHOWERS/EMBEDDED STORMS ALSO FORMING INTO EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI. A BROKEN AREA OF LOW CLOUDS WERE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS MID AFTERNOON...WITH TEMPS RANGING FROM THE UPPER 70S TO AROUND 80 DEGREES. SHORT TERM MODEL FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATED THAT THE ATMOSPHERE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA WILL BECOME MODERATELY UNSTABLE BETWEEN 21Z-00Z. CAPE VALUES WILL INCREASE TO NEARLY 1900 J/KG...WITH LIFTED INDICES AROUND -6 AND DECENT STEEP LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE REGION JUST AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. THE CURRENT TIMING OF THE LINE OF SHRA/TSRA MOVING INTO NORTHWEST ALABAMA AFTER 22Z...TO THE HSV AREA BY AROUND THE 00Z-01Z TIME FRAME AND INTO NORTHEAST ALABAMA AND THROUGH SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE BY AROUND THE 03Z TIME PERIOD STILL LOOKS GOOD AT THIS TIME. WILL CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT THE SEVERE STORM THREAT ALONG AND SLIGHTLY AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...AS THERE COULD STILL BE A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME JUST AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT WHERE THERE COULD BE ISOLATED SUPERCELL STORM DEVELOPMENT. THE SHORT TERM MODELS INCLUDING THE HRRR ALL PROGRESSIVELY MOVE THE COLD FRONT AND ASSOCIATED SHRA/TSRA DEVELOPMENT ON THROUGH JUST ABOUT ALL OF THE FORECAST AREA BY AROUND 06Z TONIGHT. WILL CONTINUE WITH A LINGERING SLIGHT CHANCE AREA OF SHOWERS BEHIND THE FRONT IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA TONIGHT UNTIL AROUND 09Z. A LARGE AND COLDER AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL QUICKLY BUILD SOUTHEAST INTO THE REGION BY EARLY SATURDAY...WITH MUCH COLDER TEMPS BETWEEN 15-20 DEGREES LESS THAN FRIDAY'S HIGH TEMPS EXPECTED. THE RIDGE AXIS WILL MOVE EAST OF THE REGION BY EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. WITH WINDS EXPECTED TO DECOUPLE TOWARD MORNING...HAVE ADDED IN PATCHY FROST FOR SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE BETWEEN THE 09Z-12Z TIME FRAME. BY 12Z SUNDAY...A SHORT WAVE IS EXPECTED TO FORM ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE OLD COLD FRONT ALONG THE GULF COAST. LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL RAPIDLY MOVE NORTHWARD INTO EAST TEXAS...AND THEN INTO THE ARKLATEX REGION BY 00Z MONDAY. WILL CONTINUE WITH AN INCREASING CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED STORMS AFTER 06Z MONDAY AS PWAT VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO AROUND 1.25 INCHES BETWEEN THE 09Z-12Z MONDAY AM TIME FRAME. WILL KEEP PRECIP CHANCES INTO THE LIKELY CATEGORY FOR MONDAY AND THEN SLOWLY TAPER OFF PRECIP CHANCES BY MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY AS THE SYSTEM SLOWLY SHIFTS EAST-NORTHEAST OF THE FORECAST AREA. AN UNSETTLED PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIODS AS A SERIES OF SHORT WAVES MOVE ACROSS THE REGION IN THE ZONAL TO SLIGHT SOUTHWEST UPPER LEVEL FLOW. A STRONGER UPPER TROUGH IS PROGGED BY THE ECMWF/GFS MODELS TO MOVE THROUGH THE CENTRAL PLAINS BY NEXT FRIDAY...WITH SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE REGION AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. WILL STAY MORE IN LINE WITH THE SLIGHTLY COOLER ECMWF MODEL GUIDANCE THROUGH THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIODS. TT && .AVIATION... /ISSUED 1233 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015/ FOR 18Z TAFS... VFR CONDITIONS WILL QUICKLY DETERIORATE OVER THE NEXT 6 HOURS AT THE KMSL AND KHSV TERMINALS. WINDS WILL BE FAIRLY ELEVATED TODAY AND OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST...WITH WIND GUSTING UP TO 23KTS POSSIBLE. THIS IS HELPING SURFACE HEATING...WITH INSTABILITY INCREASING AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE AREA. AHEAD OF THE FRONT...WHICH IS PROGGED TO MOVE THROUGH DURING THE LATE EVENING HOURS...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP WILL BE POSSIBLE...MAINLY AFTER 21Z. GIVEN THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE TIMING ON INDIVIDUAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOP...WILL CONTINUE THE VCTS AT EACH TERMINAL. A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH JUST ALONG THE COLD FRONT...REACHING THE KMSL TERMINAL AS EARLY AS 23Z AND THEN THE KHSV AT 01Z. THUNDERSTORMS...WITH REDUCE VISIBILITIES AND MVFR CEILINGS WILL QUICKLY MOVE THROUGH EACH TERMINAL...EXITING TO THE EAST BY 03Z...WHEN THE SOUTHERLY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO SHIFT MORE NORTHERLY. CONDITIONS WILL THEN IMPROVE THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...WITH VFR EXPECTED BY 10Z AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE PERIOD. 73 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... HUNTSVILLE 46 64 40 68 / 80 10 0 10 SHOALS 44 62 40 67 / 70 10 0 20 VINEMONT 44 62 39 66 / 90 10 0 10 FAYETTEVILLE 41 60 36 65 / 80 10 0 10 ALBERTVILLE 45 61 39 64 / 90 10 0 10 FORT PAYNE 43 61 36 64 / 90 10 0 10 && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/HUNTSVILLE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 536 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-041100- LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN- MARSHALL-JACKSON-DEKALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN- 536 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS STILL EXISTS THIS EVENING AS A COLD FRONT DROPS SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE REGION. A BROKEN LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE BRISKLY THROUGH THE AREA AHEAD OF THE FRONT PRODUCING STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE THE MAIN HAZARDS AT THIS TIME. THE STORMS SHOULD AFFECT AREAS FROM SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE INTO NORTHWEST ALABAMA BETWEEN 6 PM AND 9 PM...AND THE REST OF NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ALABAMA BETWEEN 8 PM AND 11 PM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... PATCHY FROST IS POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE BY EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL RETURN TO THE REGION LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND PERSIST EACH DAY NEXT WEEK AS A MORE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN BECOMES ESTABLISHED. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS POSSIBLE THIS EVENING.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
545 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015
ALZ006-009-032315-
MADISON AL-JACKSON AL-
545 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN MADISON AND NORTHWESTERN
JACKSON COUNTIES UNTIL 615 PM CDT...
AT 545 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER
NORTHWESTERN HUNTSVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.
PEA SIZE HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 30 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
HUNTSVILLE...MADISON...MOORES MILL...REDSTONE ARSENAL...
MERIDIANVILLE...HAZEL GREEN...MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER...
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE...ALABAMA A AND M UNIVERSITY AND
NEW MARKET.
LAT...LON 3484 8616 3463 8671 3473 8679 3483 8679
3499 8648 3499 8629
TIME...MOT...LOC 2245Z 240DEG 39KT 3475 8669
LNSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 636 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 ALZ001-002-040015- LAUDERDALE AL-COLBERT AL- 636 PM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL LAUDERDALE AND CENTRAL COLBERT COUNTIES UNTIL 715 PM CDT... AT 635 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR CHEROKEE...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. PEA SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... FLORENCE...MUSCLE SHOALS...SHEFFIELD...TUSCUMBIA...KILLEN... CHEROKEE...LEIGHTON...ST. FLORIAN...UNDERWOOD-PETERSVILLE AND CENTER STAR. THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS...FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. LAT...LON 3474 8799 3490 8798 3491 8745 3468 8747 TIME...MOT...LOC 2335Z 273DEG 31KT 3481 8790 SL.77
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 127 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:35 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A few trees were downed due to thunderstorm winds. A fatality occurred along Highway 157 after a vehicle struck a fallen tree.
Two power poles and a few large trees were downed by thunderstorm winds.
An unoccupied mobile home was moved off of its foundation by thunderstorm winds. There were also a few trees and power lines downed by thunderstorm winds on Hayes Mill Road near Piney Chapel, Alabama.
A couple of trees were downed by thunderstorm winds on Northington road at the junction of Cottonwood drive and also on Boles road in Madison county, Alabama.
Quarter sized hail was reported.
A tree was downed by thunderstorm winds on Elkton street in Athens, Alabama.
Several trees and power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds.
A storm survey determined that a weak tornado touched down in the Fyffe, Alabama, community just east of the intersection of County road 545 and County Road 50. A few softwood trees were uprooted on the north side of the road. The tornado then moved east, crossing County Road 50 briefly, and uprooting some trees along County Road 536. The tornado then nearly paralleled County Road 50, destroying a large hay barn just east of County Road 528. The winds within the tornado along County Road 528 were estimated at around 85 mph with a narrow path of 30 yards. The tornado finally lifted west of County Road 539 after downing a few more trees.
Quarter sized hail was reported.
Quarter sized hail was reported.
A tornado touched down in the Ider community of eastern DeKalb County, Alabama. The tornado first touched down along County Road 783. Numerous hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted. A small outbuilding was damaged near the intersection of County road 776. The tornado then tracked just north of County Road 776 before intersecting County Road 788.
Damage to trees was fairly widespread in this area. Several homes or buildings also received minor roof or structural damage. The tornado reached its maximum intensity just west of Alabama Highway 75. One home there sustained significant roof damage with the majority of the roof removed. An anchored outbuilding was destroyed and several over homes sustained minor damage. Also, a power pole was snapped off and many large hardwood trees were snapped about 20 feet above the ground.
The tornado then crossed Alabama Highway 75, snapping and uprooting trees along both sides of the road. The tornado began to weaken as it moved east-southeast, crossing County Road 372. Very minor roof damage was noted to a home and a few trees were uprooted. The tornado then dissipated on the east side of County Road 791 in the Cartersville, Alabama community after uprooting a few trees on the eastern slopes of Sand Mountain.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind, Lauderdale | 2015-04-03 | Unknown | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Alabama, 2015Warnings in Alabama, April 2015
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: 573142, 573145, 573147, 573149, 573150, 573151, 573159, 573129, 573158, 573160, 573132.