Two people were killed just before dawn while driving on a road in Marshall County. A tree tragically fell onto their vehicle causing their deaths.
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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.
Two people were killed just before dawn while driving on a road in Marshall County. A tree tragically fell onto their vehicle causing their deaths. Gusty northwest winds of 15-25 mph with gusts over 30 mph were reported.
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 Nov 30, 5:22 AM CST, 8 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Huntsville AL 522 AM CST Mon Nov 30 2020 .UPDATE... For 12Z TAFS. && .NEAR TERM...(Today) Issued at 311 AM CST Mon Nov 30 2020 Showers are coming to an end from southwest to northeast early this morning. The surface low is currently located across north Georgia and will continue to track to the northeast across the southern Appalachians this morning. The arctic cold front is currently moving into the forecast area and this will usher in the coldest airmass of the season. Temperatures today will slowly fall into the mid 30s by noon with low 30s later this afternoon. Additionally, northwesterly winds will increase today with gusts into the 20-30 mph range possible throughout the day. The combination of temperatures and winds will create wind chill readings in the 20s throughout the day. Overall, a good day to stay warm inside if possible. The main trough associated with the arctic boundary will be overhead later this afternoon and evening. At this time, 850 mb temperatures will drop drastically into the -12 to -8 degree range. The atmosphere will be dry in the mid and upper levels. This is apparent on water vapor imagery with significant dry air in the mid and upper portions of the atmosphere. However, model soundings suggest that the low-levels will remain saturated later this afternoon and evening. These cold temperatures just above the surface will create rather impressive low-level lapse rates. 0-1.5 to 0-2 km lapse rates will be around 7-8 degrees C. PW values will be low and generally less than a quarter of an inch. The moisture extends into the lower reaches of the snow growth zone. Overall, a little more confident in snow occurring today than in previous forecast. Most model guidance suggest a light rain/snow mix will be possible early this afternoon and changing to all snow late this evening into the overnight hours. Current thinking is that most people will see a few snow flurries late this afternoon and evening. Higher confidence in light snow showers will be for locations east of I-65. Snowfall will be light, the ground will be warm, and winds will be gusty the combination of these factors should keep any accumulations rather minor. As for accumulations expect the highest amounts will be across the southern Cumberland Plateau in Franklin County Tennessee where up to an inch of snow will be possible for locations above 1500 feet. Up to half an inch of snow accumulation will be possible in the remainder of Franklin County Tennessee, Moore County Tennessee, and on the southern Cumberland Plateau in Jackson County Alabama. Up to a quarter of an inch of snow accumulation will be possible across Sand Mountain in DeKalb County. Elsewhere, do not expect snow will accumulate. Another interesting feature will be the orientation of the winds. The winds will be from the west northwest behind the boundary. These winds will generally be parallel to Wheeler Lake. With the steep low- level lapse rates, relatively warm water, and wind direction, it will be interesting to see if there could be some slight enhancement of any precipitation downwind of the lake. .SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Wednesday) Issued at 311 AM CST Mon Nov 30 2020 Any ongoing snow showers/flurries will come to a quick end tonight. A few lingering snow shower/flurries will be possible for extreme northeast Tennessee and southern Middle Tennessee. Overall, expect any chances for snow will come to an end around midnight tonight. Much colder air will pour into the Tennessee Valley tonight. Lows tonight into Tuesday morning will be down into the low to mid 20s for most locations. Winds will weaken a good bit tonight but a light breeze is still forecast to continue into the morning. Due to this, wind chill values will drop down into the upper teens tonight into Tuesday morning. There will not be a cloud in the sky on Tuesday with an impressively cold and dry airmass in place. PW values will be down around 0.1 inches. Despite the ample supply on sunshine, temperatures will only top out in the low to mid 40s. Westerly winds will range from 5-10 mph but winds will be much calmer than today. High pressure settles over the Southeastern U.S. Tuesday night into Wednesday morning leading to ideal radiational cooling conditions with the dry airmass in place. Temperatures will drop quickly after sunset with lows Wednesday morning in the low to mid 20s again. Temperatures will moderate some on Wednesday as the surface high shifts to the east and as a closed low approaches from the west. Southerly winds will develop ahead of this approaching system. Temperatures will climb into the low to mid 50s. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday night through Sunday) Issued at 311 AM CST Mon Nov 30 2020 Clouds will increase across the Tennessee Valley Wednesday night ahead of the approaching upper level trough. For now, expect there will not be enough cold air for wintry precipitation at the onset of precipitation. There could be a brief wintry mix at the onset but thinking this situation has a very low probability of occurring and leaning towards precipitation being all liquid at the onset. Models disagree on the timing of the precipitation and the later timing on Thursday would also lead to higher probabilities of all liquid precipitation at the onset. Regardless, Thursday will feature the highest chances of precipitation in the long-term portion of the forecast period. The front associated with the closed low is forecast to move through the area rather quickly with drier conditions forecast on Friday. Cold air will advect into the region behind the departing system late in the week but the cold air will be much less extreme than what is expected today. Dry conditions are forecast late this week and into the weekend with highs generally in the upper 40s and low 50s with lows in the upper 20 to mid 30s. && .AVIATION...(For the 12Z TAFS through 12Z Tuesday morning) Issued at 521 AM CST Mon Nov 30 2020 MVFR ceilings currently across the terminals behind a departing cold front. Temperatures will drop throughout the day behind this boundary with lingering low-level moisture. Scattered showers and snow showers will develop later this afternoon/evening. Highest confidence is at HSV and have a PROB30 between 21-24z for -SHRASN. Confidence is not as high at MSL and have left things dry there for now. Additionally, northwesterly winds will remain gusty throughout the day in the 20-25 kt range. Winds will subside and ceilings will improve to VFR late in the TAF cycle around 03z. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && NEAR TERM...MA SHORT TERM...MA LONG TERM...MA AVIATION...MA For more information please visit our website at weather.gov/huntsville.
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Huntsville AL 439 AM CST Mon Nov 30 2020 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-010145- Lauderdale-Colbert-Franklin AL-Lawrence-Limestone-Madison-Morgan- Marshall-Jackson-DeKalb-Cullman-Moore-Lincoln-Franklin TN- 439 AM CST Mon Nov 30 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north Alabama and portions of southern middle Tennessee. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight... Rain showers will transition to a mixture of light rain and snow early this afternoon and eventually all snow late this afternoon into this evening as arctic air pours into the Tennessee Valley. Expect the highest amounts will be across the southern Cumberland Plateau in Franklin County Tennessee where up to an inch of snow will be possible for locations above 1500 feet. Up to half an inch of snow accumulation will be possible in the remainder of Franklin County Tennessee, Moore County Tennessee, and on the southern Cumberland Plateau in Jackson County Alabama. Up to a quarter of an inch of snow accumulation will be possible across Sand Mountain in DeKalb County. Elsewhere, no snowfall accumulation is expected. Additionally, northwesterly winds will be gusty today in the 20 to 30 mph at times. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday... 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.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree fell onto a vehicle travelling on Swearengin Road. The vehicle crashed, with two adult occupants killed and one juvenile injured.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind, Marshall | 2020-11-30 | 34 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Strong Wind, Marshall | 2020-11-30 | 33 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
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, November 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: 928557.