Heavy thunderstorm activity over Lee County during the early afternoon hours produced a lightning strike at the Lee County Flea Market in Smiths Station which resulted in a fatality.
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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 BMX wrote it up.
Heavy thunderstorm activity over Lee County during the early afternoon hours produced a lightning strike at the Lee County Flea Market in Smiths Station which resulted in a fatality.
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 Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 20, 2:02 PM CST, 4 hours 43 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Birmingham AL 302 PM CDT Sat Jul 20 2024 ...New LONG TERM... .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Sunday) Issued at 102 PM CDT SAT JUL 20 2024 This afternoon. Expansive mid-level ridging remains centered out west over Nevada while broad troughing in the mid levels was present over much of the Mid-South Region while a shortwave impulse was moving east over the Central Plains to over the Mid Mississippi River Valley Region. Locally, RAP 13 km mesoanalysis depicts a potent shortwave over our eastern counties that supported the showers and storms that developed and moved northeast across the area earlier this morning. A few weaker disturbances were depicted back to the west our our area. A surface front extended from near Memphis south along much of the Lower Mississippi River while a warm front extended northeast across the Tennessee Valley Region into Virginia. The better mid and upper level support will continue to be over our eastern counties while coastal convection will continue to move inland, resulting in more cloud cover with the greater PoPs across the southeast half of the area this afternoon. There will be at least an isolated coverage of showers with some thunderstorms across our west and northwest, where there are some breaks in the clouds on satellite and where a few weak disturbances aloft will move east over later today. A nearly saturated vertical profile is forecast across the area this afternoon, which will continue to support showers and storms that can produce very efficient rainfall rates over an inch an hour. Urban and poor drainage locations that experience multiple storms over a short period of time may see ponding of water in spots. Winds will be from the south to southwest at 3-6 mph. Highs will range from the lower 80s in the higher elevations east and northeast to the upper 80s across the far south and far west. Tonight. A more southwest flow aloft will develop over the area tonight as an upper low develops over the Midwest while persistent ridging amplifies further over much of the Intermountain West. The surface front will gradually drift southeast further, moving into the far northwest portion of the state after midnight. Expect mostly cloudy skies overnight with chances for lingering showers and some thunderstorms highest across areas roughly between the Interstate 20 and Interstate 85 corridors, with lower chances elsewhere. We will need to continue to watch urban and poor drainage areas that experience repeated activity for water ponding. Winds will be from the south at 2-4 mph. Low temperatures will range from the upper 60s far north and far northeast to the low 70s south and west. Sunday. Broad troughing will persist in the mid levels just to our west over much of the Mid-South and Central Plains on Sunday. The surface front looks to make very little further progress southeastward, remaining across the northwest corner of the state. Scattered showers with isolated thunderstorms are expected across much of the area with better potential across our southeast counties. Winds will be from the southwest at 4-8 mph. Highs will range from the low 80s in the higher elevations north and east to the upper 80s far south and west. 05 && .LONG TERM... (Sunday night through next Friday) Issued at 302 PM CDT SAT JUL 20 2024 The long-term forecast remains on track as of today's update. Central Alabama will remain wedged in between an upper trough in the center of the CONUS and a ridge centered over the western Atlantic. Southwesterly flow across much of the atmospheric profile will continue as a result, with rounds of showers and storms expected each day. A majority of the activity will be diurnally driven, but we can also expect a chance for nocturnal convection as well, with upper level shortwave activity moving through the mean flow. With tropical moisture in place, we'll see very efficient rainfall producers and can't rule out some isolated flooding, especially in locations where soils become saturated. The good news is that our drought conditions will certainly improve with consecutive days of rain, along with cooler daytime highs mostly in the 80s. 56/GDG && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1223 PM CDT SAT JUL 20 2024 An unsettled pattern will persist through this forecast cycle with scattered to numerous showers and some thunderstorm activity this afternoon and evening. Thunderstorm potential will be best near MGM through mid afternoon with much of the activity expected across the southeast half of the area. Lower chances for showers and a few storms will persist across the rest of the area through the afternoon and into early evening. Overnight, expect best chances for lingering showers and a few storms across the east and southeast portions of the area. Some patchy fog may develop across portions of the north and east portion of the area before sunrise Sunday, followed by increased chances for showers and storms areawide toward the end of this forecast period. 05 && .FIRE WEATHER... A rainy pattern is expected to continue through the weekend and into the early part of next week. Generally light winds expected aside from thunderstorm wind gusts. The humid airmass will keep minimum relative humidity values in the 60 to 80 percent range. Fog development is possible each night, especially in areas that saw rain during the day. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Gadsden 70 84 70 85 / 50 70 50 70 Anniston 70 83 71 85 / 60 70 50 70 Birmingham 72 84 72 86 / 50 70 50 70 Tuscaloosa 72 87 72 86 / 50 70 40 70 Calera 70 84 72 85 / 50 70 50 70 Auburn 70 83 72 85 / 60 70 60 70 Montgomery 72 86 72 87 / 60 70 50 70 Troy 71 87 72 87 / 50 70 50 70 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...05 LONG TERM....56/GDG AVIATION...05
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Birmingham AL 344 AM CDT Sat Jul 20 2024 ALZ011>015-017>050-211145- Marion-Lamar-Fayette-Winston-Walker-Blount-Etowah-Calhoun-Cherokee- Cleburne-Pickens-Tuscaloosa-Jefferson-Shelby-St. Clair-Talladega- Clay-Randolph-Sumter-Greene-Hale-Perry-Bibb-Chilton-Coosa-Tallapoosa- Chambers-Marengo-Dallas-Autauga-Lowndes-Elmore-Montgomery-Macon- Bullock-Lee-Russell-Pike-Barbour- 344 AM CDT Sat Jul 20 2024 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the counties served by the National Weather Service office in Birmingham. .DAY ONE...Outlook through Tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Activation of storm spotters and emergency management is not expected at this time.
The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:46 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning strike at the Lee County Flea Market in Smiths Station at approximately 12:45 PM CDT resulted in a fatality.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Lee | 2024-07-20 | 67 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
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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: 1184921.