Alabama, 2023

Excessive Heat and Heat in Alabama, August 11 to 14, 2023

August 11 to 14, 2023 · NWS HUN · 15 events in 10 counties and zones

Heat index values reached 105-109 on August 11th, 2023 and peaked between 110 and 115 degrees in some locations near and west of the I-65 corridor in Alabama during the afternoon hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 15 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
15

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS HUN wrote it up.

Heat index values reached 105-109 on August 11th, 2023 and peaked between 110 and 115 degrees in some locations near and west of the I-65 corridor in Alabama during the afternoon hours.

What forecasters said that day

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 Aug 11, 9:01 AM CST, 1 hour 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 9:01 AM CST, 1 hour 19 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 heat, 5 excessive heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Excessive Heat, Franklin

When
August 11, 10:20 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.442, -87.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 88 to 95 degree range during the late morning hours into the early afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 76 to 82 degree range) to produce heat index values that peaked between 110 and 115 degrees across much of the county during the afternoon hours.

Heat, Lauderdale

When
August 11, 11:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Lauderdale forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.901, -87.654 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 88 to 94 degree range during the afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 78 to 82 degree range) to produce heat index values of 105 degrees or above as early as noon. These heat index values continued until around 6 PM before dropping below 105 degrees in most locations.

Heat, Colbert

When
August 11, 11:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Colbert forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.700, -87.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 88 to 96 degree range during the afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 78 to 82 degree range) to produce heat index values of 105 degrees or above as early as noon. These heat index values continued until around 5 PM before dropping below 105 degrees in most locations.

Heat, Franklin

When
August 11, 11:00 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
Where
Franklin forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.442, -87.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 88 to 94 degree range during the afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 78 to 82 degree range) to produce heat index values of 105 degrees or above as early as noon. These heat index values continued until 5:30 PM before dropping below 105 degrees in most locations.

Heat, Lawrence

When
August 11, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Lawrence forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.522, -87.311 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 88 to 96 degree range during the afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 78 to 82 degree range) to produce heat index values of 105 degrees or above as early as noon. These heat index values continued until around 7 PM before dropping below 105 degrees in most locations.

Heat, Morgan

When
August 11, 11:00 AM CST to August 14, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Morgan forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.454, -86.853 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 88 to 94 degree range during the afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 78 to 82 degree range) to produce heat index values of 105 degrees or above as early as noon. These heat index values continued until around 7 PM before dropping below 105 degrees in most locations.

Heat, Jackson

When
August 11, 11:00 AM CST to 5:30 PM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.779, -85.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that temperatures climbed into the 88 to 94 degree range during the late morning into the afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 77 to 81 degree range) to produce heat index values of 105 degrees or above. These heat index values continued until around 6:30 PM before dropping below 105 degrees in most locations.

Heat, Cullman

When
August 11, 11:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
Where
Cullman forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.132, -86.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 88 to 94 degree range during the afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 78 to 82 degree range) to produce heat index values of 105 degrees or above just after noon. These heat index values continued through 5:30 PM before dropping below 105 degrees in most locations.

Excessive Heat, Morgan

When
August 11, 11:40 AM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where
Morgan forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.454, -86.853 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 91 to 95 degree range during the late morning hours into the early afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 77 to 81 degree range) to produce heat index values that peaked between 113 and 115 degrees across much of the county during the afternoon hours.

Heat, Limestone

When
August 11, 12:00 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Limestone forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.810, -86.981 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 88 to 92 degree range during the afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 75 to 81 degree range) to produce heat index values of 105 degrees or above as early as noon. These heat index values continued until around 6 PM before dropping below 105 degrees in most locations.

Heat, Madison

When
August 11, 12:00 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.763, -86.550 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 88 to 94 degree range during the afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 75 to 80 degree range) to produce heat index values of 105 degrees or above as early as noon. These heat index values continued until around 6 PM before dropping below 105 degrees in most locations.

Excessive Heat, Lawrence

When
August 11, 12:15 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Lawrence forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.522, -87.311 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 91 to 96 degree range during the late morning hours into the early afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 76 to 82 degree range) to produce heat index values that peaked between 110 and 115 degrees across much of the county during the afternoon hours.

Excessive Heat, Colbert

When
August 11, 12:45 PM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Colbert forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.700, -87.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 91 to 95 degree range during the late morning hours into the early afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 76 to 82 degree range) to produce heat index values that peaked between 110 and 115 degrees across much of the county during the afternoon hours.

Heat, Marshall

When
August 11, 12:50 PM CST to 5:30 PM CST
Where
Marshall forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.367, -86.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that temperatures climbed into the 88 to 93 degree range during the late morning into the afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 75 to 80 degree range) to produce heat index values of 105 degrees or above. These heat index values continued until around 6:30 PM before dropping below 105 degrees in most locations.

Excessive Heat, Limestone

When
August 11, 1:00 PM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Limestone forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.810, -86.981 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Through mesonet and official NWS observations, it was determined that, temperatures climbed into the 89 to 93 degree range during the late morning hours into the early afternoon hours. This combined with very moist boundary layer conditions (surface dewpoints in the 76 to 81 degree range) to produce heat index values that peaked between 110 and 112 degrees across much of the county during the afternoon hours.

What these are

Excessive Heat
Heat at or above the local excessive heat warning criteria, or heat that caused deaths.
Heat
Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alabama in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, August 2023

Sources

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: 1135332, 1134820, 1134827, 1135326, 1135345, 1135938, 1138640, 1135337, 1135939, 1135356, 1135370, 1135346, 1134839, 1138635, 1135364.