Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 129, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 20, 2001Lamar County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 2001, 7:18 PM CDT for Lamar County, Alabama. It was in force for 27 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
May 20, 2001, 7:18 PM CDT (00:18 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 2001, 7:45 PM CDT
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Lamar County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 20, 7:40 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50 ECountywide, ALSeveral trees and power lines were blown down across the county.

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 nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 139 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2001-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3650 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2001-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 7 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
3650 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-44 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1565 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
57 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
4.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

145 
WUUS54 KBMX 210019
SVRBHM
ALC075-210045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
718 PM CDT SUN MAY 20 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  LAMAR COUNTY IN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 745 PM CDT

* AT 715 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 13 MILES NORTH OF SULLIGENT TO 7
  MILES WEST OF VERNON...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...SULLIGENT AND
  VERNON.

STRONG DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN ARE LIKELY
WITH THIS STORM. TAKE COVER IN A STURDY SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM
PASSES.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD PREPARE
FOR DAMAGING WIND...IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...AND LARGE HAIL. PEOPLE
OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO SHELTER. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 7:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette, Pickens23 min
May 20, 7:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette, Lamar42 min
May 20, 8:25 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFayette, Tuscaloosa35 min
May 20, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa46 min
May 21, 12:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens33 min
May 21, 12:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa44 min
May 21, 1:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene20 min
May 21, 1:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa26 min
May 21, 2:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa27 min
May 21, 2:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb30 min
May 21, 2:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb10 min
May 21, 2:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby52 min
May 21, 4:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson, Madison34 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2001Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001

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.