A line of thunderstorms dropped southeast through north Alabama ahead of a cold front during the middle to late evening hours of the 15th. A tree was knocked down in Colbert County, and multiple trees were knocked down in the Brownsboro community of Madison County.
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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 line of thunderstorms dropped southeast through north Alabama ahead of a cold front during the middle to late evening hours of the 15th. A tree was knocked down in Colbert County, and multiple trees were knocked down in the Brownsboro community of Madison County. Wind gusts were measured at 40-50 mph along this portion of the line of thunderstorms as measured by RAWS and CWOP weather stations.
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 Jan 15, 8:44 PM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Huntsville AL 844 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020 .NEAR TERM...(Tonight) Issued at 844 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020 Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms, extending from SE of Nashville to just west of far NW Alabama, and south of Tunica, continued moving to the east at 40-45 mph. No severe weather has been indicated with this activity as it earlier impacted parts of western Tennessee and northern Mississippi, but reports of small hail, gusty winds and very heavy rainfall has occurred. The latter could be a concern regarding a lower end flash flood potential. Although this activity is occurring over a day after the last significant rains, grounds across most of the Tennessee Valley are very wet to saturated. In addition to gusty winds and small hail, we will also monitor for excessive rainfall and flooding. A cold front coinciding with, or just NW of the line of convection continued moving to the SE, and should sweep across the forecast area in the late evening and overnight. Shower activity as of this writing should end after the front passes. SW to W winds will become NW, and increase into the 10-20 mph range, with some higher gusts. A bit cooler for night time lows tonight in comparison to recent days, with lows by daybreak Thursday ranging in the mid 40s to low 50s. .SHORT TERM...(Thursday through Friday) Issued at 202 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020 After lows in the m-u40s, cold advection will only allow for highs in the m50s-a60 Thursday afternoon. An Arctic high of 1045+ mb will drift east across the upper MS valley with a good pressure gradient building south through the OH and TN valleys. However, complete clearing is unlikely Thursday or into Friday as ridging in mid/upper levels continues to bring moist westerly flow atop the cold dome. Overnight lows will be in m-u30s Thursday night/Friday morning, but could depend on this cloud cover. On Friday, the 8h and surface ridges will shift east, allowing southerly flow and resulting warm advection to redevelop over across the region. A potent upper trough will dig into the central Plains by Friday night, amplifying southerly flow across the Ozarks, middle-lower MS valley and deep South. This will result in showers and a few thunderstorms Friday night, mainly west of the MS River during the evening, spreading east into the TN valley late Friday night. However, low level wedging of dry air on the lee side of the Appalachians will tend to delay significant eastward progress of precipitation Friday night as surface dew points remain in the upper 30s to lower 40s. .LONG TERM...(Friday night through Tuesday) Issued at 202 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020 Cold front will be approaching the MS River from the west going into the weekend period, as showers increase along/ahead of the oncoming boundary. The sfc low associated with the cold front will quickly lift NE out of the srn Plains into the Midwest/Great Plains states. An upper trough axis will also translate ewd out of the nrn Plains and thru the Great Lakes/NE states into the second half of the weekend period, in tandem with the sfc low. The flow pattern though closer to the SE region will trend more zonal with the frontal passage on Sat. While deep layer shear may be strong right along the front, little/if any instability looks to develop and likewise most of the precip on Sat looks to remain as showers. Rainfall should then quickly taper off to the east Sat evening with the passage of the front, with cooler/drier air spreading into the area. Noticeably colder air will then be on tap for the first half of the new work week, as a strong dome of high pressure out of the Plains states builds into much of the ern CONUS. Lows both Mon/Tue mornings look to fall well into the lower 20s/near 20F, with temps then struggling to rebound into the mid 30s/around 40F. This will certainly be a big change compared to the unseasonably warm temps as of late. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Thursday evening) Issued at 602 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020 MVFR CIGs should continue this evening. A cold front approaching from the NW will bring scattered to numerous showers and t-storms mainly in the evening. Moderate to heavy showers, especially those preceding and accompanying the front will bring temporary VIS/CIG reductions to IFR, possibly lower in the stronger storms, along with gusty winds and small hail. The front should move across KMSL 04-06Z, and KHSV 05-07Z. Shower chances will diminish after the front passes. Winds veering to the NW will increase into the 10-20kt range with some higher gusts before daybreak Thur. VFR weather will return, but with mostly broken mid/high altitude clouds remaining into the afternoon. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && NEAR TERM...RSB SHORT TERM...17 LONG TERM...09 AVIATION...RSB For more information please visit our website at weather.gov/huntsville.
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Huntsville AL 248 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-161100- Lauderdale-Colbert-Franklin AL-Lawrence-Limestone-Madison-Morgan- Marshall-Jackson-DeKalb-Cullman-Moore-Lincoln-Franklin TN- 248 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north Alabama and portions of southern middle Tennessee. .DAY ONE...Tonight... A few thunderstorms are expected this evening ahead of an approaching cold front. Hail up to the size of quarters and brief gusty winds up to 50 mph are possible with the strongest thunderstorms. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday... No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .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
835 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020
ALZ001-002-160315-
Lauderdale AL-Colbert AL-
835 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR LAUDERDALE AND NORTHERN COLBERT
COUNTIES UNTIL 915 PM CST...
At 833 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking a cluster of strong
thunderstorms 7 miles east of J P Coleman State Park, moving east at
40 mph.
Pea size hail and winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with
this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, Killen, Cherokee,
Lexington, St. Florian, Underwood-Petersville and Waterloo.
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 passed.
Very heavy rainfall is also occurring, and may lead to localized
flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways.
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring. Lightning can
strike several miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe shelter
inside a building or vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 3500 8739 3480 8738 3480 8743 3478 8743
3476 8742 3472 8744 3475 8811 3489 8810
3492 8816 3501 8820
TIME...MOT...LOC 0233Z 271DEG 33KT 3493 8803
McCoySpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Huntsville AL
900 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020
ALZ003-160345-
Franklin AL-
900 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWESTERN FRANKLIN COUNTY
UNTIL 945 PM CST...
At 859 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Fairview, or 7 miles southwest of Red Bay, moving east at 35 mph.
Pea size hail and winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with
this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Red Bay, Belgreen, Vina, Hodges, Atwood, Duketon, Little Bear Creek
Reservoir and Halltown.
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 passed.
Very heavy rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may lead
to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike several miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a
safe shelter inside a building or vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 3447 8816 3448 8815 3448 8779 3431 8778
3431 8805 3432 8817
TIME...MOT...LOC 0259Z 269DEG 32KT 3438 8826
McCoySpecial Weather Statement National Weather Service Huntsville AL 937 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020 ALZ005-006-160400- Madison AL-Limestone AL- 937 PM CST Wed Jan 15 2020 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN MADISON AND NORTHEASTERN LIMESTONE COUNTIES UNTIL 1000 PM CST... At 937 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near Athens, moving east at 50 mph. Pea size hail and winds up to 40 mph will be possible with this storm. Locations impacted include... Northwestern Huntsville, Athens, Ardmore, Harvest, Elkmont, Lester, Cartwright, Elkwood, Mt Rozell and Toney. 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 passed. Very heavy rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may lead to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways. Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Lightning can strike several miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe shelter inside a building or vehicle. && LAT...LON 3499 8661 3476 8662 3478 8716 3500 8716 TIME...MOT...LOC 0337Z 273DEG 44KT 3489 8697 McCoy
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:23 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Multiple trees were knocked down on Wall Road and Bob McKinney Road.
A tree was knocked down at the intersection of Milk Springs Road and Woodmont Drive. Time estimated by radar.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, January 2020
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: 870473, 870475.