Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 31, NWS Mobile, AL

April 15, 1999Choctaw County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 15, 1999, 12:22 AM CDT for Choctaw County, Alabama. It was in force for 68 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Apr 15, 1999, 12:22 AM CDT (05:22 UTC)
Expired: Apr 15, 1999, 1:30 AM CDT
In force: 68 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Whole counties

County Choctaw County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 149 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:22 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 15, 1:00 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55	Gilbertown, AL	High winds blew several trees down in the Shady Grove area of Gilbertown, off of U.S. Highway 84. Three houses sustained roof and window damage by the fallen trees. Power lines were also blown down near the area. More trees were blown down on County Road 6.

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 15, 12:00 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 00:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 174 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 219 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -112 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1104 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 219 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 361 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 150516 RRA
TORMOB
ALC023-150630-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1222 AM CDT THU APR 15 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CHOCTAW COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 130 AM CDT

* AT 1221 AM CDT... AS INDICATED BY DOPPLER RADAR A TORNADO WAS
  LOCATED 16 MILES NORTHWEST OF BUTLER OR 3 MILES NORTH OF YANTLEY...
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO WILL BE MAINLY OVER RURAL AREAS.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...SEEK SAFETY IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR
CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 15, 12:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Choctaw	66 min
Apr 15, 1:19 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Clarke	71 min
Apr 15, 1:42 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Washington	78 min
Apr 15, 2:07 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Wilcox	68 min
Apr 15, 2:27 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke	78 min
Apr 15, 2:47 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Monroe	73 min
Apr 15, 3:15 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Wilcox	60 min
Apr 15, 3:28 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Butler, Conecuh	62 min
Apr 15, 4:47 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Butler, Crenshaw	58 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1999 Every tornado warning in 1999 Tornadoes in 1999

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.