An isolated supercell produced large hail and damaging winds in Cullman County during the early morning hours.
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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.
An isolated supercell produced large hail and damaging winds in Cullman County during the early morning hours.
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 27, 11:55 PM CST, 50 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Huntsville AL 1255 AM CDT Fri Apr 28 2023 ...New AVIATION... .NEAR TERM... (Rest of tonight) Issued at 933 PM CDT Thu Apr 27 2023 Storms have struggled to develop and maintain intensity to our immediate west, as the stronger forcing for ascent remains farther to the west and the better moisture axis currently resides to our south near the I-22 corridor. Will be monitoring a mid level vorticity axis as it shifts east through northern MS and into the area after midnight, and could bring a few thunderstorms across portions of northwest/central AL. MLCAPE between 500-1000 J/kg will support a hail and gusty wind threat before dropping off over northeast AL. With the slower movement of these storms, periods of heavy rainfall will be possible and could cause minor flooding in poor drainage areas. Overall, confidence in any severe weather or flooding remains very low. Adjustments to overnight PoPs and winds were made to better match current obs, otherwise no significant changes were made. Overnight lows will bottom out in the mid to upper 50s. && .SHORT TERM... (Friday through Sunday) Issued at 318 PM CDT Thu Apr 27 2023 The surface trough discussed above will continue to advance slowly eastward after 12Z Friday, with lingering scattered showers expected to occur mainly for locations east of I-65 through the late morning hours. A few additional light showers will also be possible early tomorrow afternoon as a weak cold front drifts southeastward through the TN Valley, but precipitation should end for all areas by 00Z Saturday as a drier airmass is advected into the region. Highs will rise into l-m 70s (presuming that clouds disperse by mid/late afternoon), with lows in the l-m 50s and potential for patchy fog development early Saturday morning. During the day on Saturday, we will begin to experience impacts from another, slightly more amplified mid-level shortwave trough that will dig south-southeastward across the central Rockies tonight and southern Rockies/High Plains tomorrow. This positive- tilt wave is predicted to shift southeastward across OK/TX on Friday night, before slowly deepening and evolving into a closed low on Saturday as it travels further into the northwest Gulf Coast region. Although flow aloft across our region will be weakly confluent due to the orientation of the trough, mid-level forcing for ascent will begin to strengthen across the region Saturday afternoon, perhaps resulting in the development of some light showers late in the day. A more widespread coverage of rain is expected to occur from late Saturday night-early Sunday morning as the intensifying trough tracks east-northeastward across central Gulf Coast. With the path of the related surface low predicted to be to our south/east, the warm sector and risk for thunderstorms will largely remain displaced from our forecast area. However, with mid-level lapse rates expected to be fairly steep across out region, a few rumbles of thunder may occur within the more widespread rain. Precipitation will quickly end across our southeastern zones between 12-18Z Sunday, with a contracting pressure gradient and steep low-level lapse rates during the afternoon expected to result in brisk northwest winds (sustained around 20 MPH with gusts of 25-30 MPH) and highs in the u60s-l70s. && .LONG TERM... (Sunday night through Thursday) Issued at 318 PM CDT Thu Apr 27 2023 High pressure will wedge into the area Sunday night into Monday, bringing sunny but breezy conditions to the TN Valley. Gusts up to 30 mph will be possible on Monday. Post-frontal temperatures will be unseasonably cool for the first half of the week next week, with temperatures dipping roughly 10 degrees below normal. Normal temperatures for this time of year are highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid 50s. Overnight lows next week are expected to be in the low to mid 40s while daytime highs are forecast to reach the upper 60s to lower 70s through Wednesday night. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1255 AM CDT Fri Apr 28 2023 A few shra/tsra are gradually approaching NW/north central AL going into the overnight hrs. This activity is expected to weaken as it pushes more into north AL, although there is a possibility for one/two of these shra/tsra to affect either of the two main terminals over the next couple of hrs and AMDs may be needed. Otherwise, MVFR cigs/conds are expected to develop during the early morning period and prevail into the afternoon hrs. Cigs are then expected to lift above 3K ft during the late afternoon period with VFR conds prevailing thru the remainder of the forecast. Light/var winds will also turn WNW near 7-8kt Fri morning. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...None. TN...None. && NEAR TERM...25 SHORT TERM....70 LONG TERM....HC AVIATION...09
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Huntsville AL
104 AM CDT Fri Apr 28 2023
ALZ007-016-280630-
Morgan AL-Cullman AL-
104 AM CDT Fri Apr 28 2023
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northwestern Cullman
and south central Morgan Counties through 130 AM CDT...
At 104 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Helicon, or near Arley, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and nickel size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Cullman, Good Hope, Falkville, Baldwin, Vinemont, West Point, Phelan,
Lacon, Logan and Crane Hill.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
LAT...LON 3431 8711 3436 8698 3440 8687 3413 8677
3406 8711
TIME...MOT...LOC 0604Z 254DEG 27KT 3414 8716
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
RSBSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Huntsville AL
129 AM CDT Fri Apr 28 2023
ALZ007-016-280700-
Morgan AL-Cullman AL-
129 AM CDT Fri Apr 28 2023
...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northern Cullman and
southeastern Morgan Counties through 200 AM CDT...
At 129 AM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Cullman, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and nickel size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Cullman, Good Hope, Holly Pond, Baldwin, Vinemont, Baileyton, West
Point, Eva, Phelan and Walter.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 3424 8706 3440 8661 3421 8655 3420 8655
3414 8659 3413 8661 3406 8700
TIME...MOT...LOC 0629Z 252DEG 27KT 3418 8695
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH
RSBThe Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 106 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:45 UTC.
3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A social media post and photo indicated an approximate 2 inch diameter hailstone in the Larkwood subdivision in Cullman.
A news article reported that one third of a roof at the Stiefelmeyer Building was blown away. A power pole between First and Second Avenues was splintered and an unspecified number of vehicles were damaged. Debris blown from the building damaged surrouding businesses and areas. Three buildings of Margo's Antiques and Gifts experienced damage.
Golf ball sized hail was reported east of Cullman near U.S. Highway 278.
Quarter sized hail was reported near the intersection of Eva Road and CR 157.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alabama in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, April 2023
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: 1095076, 1095079, 1095077, 1095134.