A line of thunderstorms entered northwest Alabama during the late evening hours. A tree was knocked down by gusty winds in Colbert County due to the thunderstorms.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 line of thunderstorms entered northwest Alabama during the late evening hours. A tree was knocked down by gusty winds in Colbert County due to the thunderstorms. Another was knocked down by non-thunderstorm winds.
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 Feb 28, 9:38 PM CST, 22 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Huntsville AL 938 PM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 .NEAR TERM...(Rest of tonight) Issued at 938 PM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 There have been no significant changes to the forecast this evening, with the main feature of interest being a cold front and associated QLCS that will advance very slowly southeastward across the region late this evening/early Monday morning. Data from several, very beneficial soundings that have been launched by atmoshperic science students at UAH this evening continue to depict a fairly stable environment downstream from the approaching convection, characterized by weak low-level lapse rates and MUCAPE generally less than 50 J/kg. However, both low-level and deep-layer shear continue to be rather impressive, and will support mainly a low-end wind damage threat with the strongest and most organized cells until the cold front exits the forecast area. Attention later Monday morning will quickly turn to both flash and areal flooding, as widespread moderate-locally heavy rainfall will persist for several hours in the wake of the slow-moving frontal QLCS (which in itself will yield rainfall rates up to 2 inches/hour). Thus, no changes will be made to the Flash Flood Watch at this time. Otherwise, very minor adjustments have been made to temperature/dewpoint/wind grids to account for recent trends in observations. Most locations will see temperatures drop into the u40s-l50s by 12Z. .SHORT TERM...(Monday through Tuesday) Issued at 215 PM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 Heavy rainfall and the potential for flooding will continue to be possible Monday morning as the front slowly drifts southward. Also, the forecast area will be in the favored right entrance region of a 300 mb jet on Monday morning. Due to this, expect post-frontal precipitation will continue to be possible later in the morning. Temperatures will be noticeably cooler tomorrow. High temperatures for the day will occur at midnight with temperatures slowly falling throughout the day. Temperatures will fall into the upper 40s to low 50s Monday afternoon. Drier weather is forecast by the afternoon as a shortwave ridge moves into the Tennessee Valley. The break in precipitation will be short-lived. The front will stall along the northern Gulf Coast Monday night into early Tuesday. A closed upper level low will move out Texas into the Lower Mississippi River valley late Monday into Tuesday. An area of low pressure will develop along the front across the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The front will slowly nudge northwards but should remain well to the south of the forecast area. However, isentropic lift to the north of this warm front will lead to widespread showers developing on Tuesday. With the front remaining to the south and the stratiform nature of the precipitation, it looks like rainfall amounts should remain below an inch. Therefore, do not expect this system will lead to any additional flooding issues but will exacerbate any ongoing flooding issues. Highs on Tuesday will remain in the upper 40s to low 50s with the warm front remaining to the south. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday night through Saturday) Issued at 215 PM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 The trend has been towards a drier extended. Both the GFS/ECMWF indicate a dry solution throughout the remainder of the forecast period. Drier conditions will arrive Tuesday night as the upper level low transitions to an open wave and progresses quickly to the east. Higher heights will move in midweek as an upper level ridge builds in from the west. Northwesterly flow will feature throughout much of the extended. A dry cold front is forecast to move through the area later bringing in a fresh supply of cooler air. Temperatures throughout much of the long-term forecast will be near seasonal averages with highs in the mid 50s to low 60s with lows in the mid 30s to low 40s. The coldest morning will be Friday morning behind the dry front when temperatures will drop down to near freezing. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Monday evening) Issued at 622 PM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 VFR conditions and moderate SW flow will persist at the terminals early this evening, although scattered SHRA will shift northeastward ahead of an approaching cold front, potentially bringing brief periods of reduced vsby and cigs of 3500-4000 ft AGL. Based on a consensus of latest model guidance, the cold front and associated squall line of SHRA/TSRA will reach MSL arnd 04Z and HSV arnd 05Z. Strong wind gusts and heavy rainfall will accompany the squall line, but overall coverage of TSRA is a bit uncertain and for this reason we will only use VCTS in the forecast. Wind will veer to NNW in the wake of the cold front, with moderate stratiform rainfall slowly transitioning to lgt RA between 12-18Z before ending. Sct-bkn MVFR stratus will also lift by early aftn, with VFR altostratus cigs arnd 20 kft persisting thru the end of the period. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...Flash Flood Watch through Monday morning for ALZ001>007-009. TN...Flash Flood Watch through Monday morning for TNZ076-096-097. && NEAR TERM...70/DD SHORT TERM...MA LONG TERM...MA AVIATION...70/DD For more information please visit our website at weather.gov/huntsville.
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Huntsville AL 111 PM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-011015- Lauderdale-Colbert-Franklin AL-Lawrence-Limestone-Madison-Morgan- Marshall-Jackson-DeKalb-Cullman-Moore-Lincoln-Franklin TN- 111 PM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north Alabama and portions of southern middle Tennessee. .DAY ONE...Tonight... Local rivers and streams remain at elevated levels from the recent heavy rainfall. Strong thunderstorms will be possible late this afternoon and evening across much of the area. Strong to severe storms could affect portions of northwest Alabama and southern Middle Tennessee. The main threat from the storms will be damaging wind gusts. A tornado or two cannot be ruled out as well. Widespread heavy rainfall is forecast this evening into Monday morning, as a cold front sweeps across the area from the northwest. Rainfall amounts will range from 1 to 2 inches with locally higher amounts. These rainfall amounts will lead to localized flooding, especially in areas of poor drainage. A Flash Flood Watch beginning late this evening has been issued for all of the area, except for Cullman, Marshall, and Dekalb counties. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday... Moderate to locally heavy showers on-going Monday morning will taper off in the afternoon. Additional rises in area river and stream levels is likely due to runoff from the recent rains. Another round of showers is forecast to impact the forecast area Tuesday and Tuesday night. Rainfall amounts will be under an inch with this system. The additional rainfall could exacerbate any ongoing flooding. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... Activation of storm spotters and emergency management personnel is possible late this afternoon and evening. Also, timely reports of adverse weather and flooding will be greatly appreciated. Please relay this information to the NWS while following all local, state, and CDC guidelines.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Huntsville AL
942 PM CST Sun Feb 28 2021
ALZ001-002-010430-
Lauderdale AL-Colbert AL-
942 PM CST Sun Feb 28 2021
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR WESTERN LAUDERDALE AND
NORTHWESTERN COLBERT COUNTIES UNTIL 1030 PM CST...
At 942 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from near J P Coleman State Park to 7 miles
southwest of Burton. Movement was northeast at 55 mph.
Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with these storms.
Locations impacted include...
Cherokee, Underwood-Petersville, Waterloo, Malone, Zip City, Threet,
Margerum, Riverton, Wright and Oakland.
LAT...LON 3500 8765 3499 8765 3482 8773 3470 8812
3489 8810 3492 8816 3500 8820 3501 8820
TIME...MOT...LOC 0342Z 246DEG 49KT 3491 8822 3458 8845
GHThe Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:05 UTC.
1 strong wind, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was knocked down on Sterling Blvd.
A tree was knocked down on Old Natchez Trace Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, February 2021
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: 937229, 937228.