Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 402, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 24, 2001Madison County, Morgan County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 24, 2001, 9:22 PM CDT for Madison County, Morgan County, Alabama. It was in force for 53 min. 2 reports 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
Oct 24, 2001, 9:22 PM CDT (02:22 UTC)
Expired
Oct 24, 2001, 10:15 PM CDT
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Madison County, AL, Morgan County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:24 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Oct 24, 9:45 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EDecatur, ALNumerous trees were blown down just southwest of the city of Decatur.
Oct 24, 9:55 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EHuntsville, ALA few locations in and around the city of Huntsville reported power lines blown down.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Oct 24, 8:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 159 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 2001-10-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1948 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2001-10-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 163 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1948 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
874 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
163 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
265 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.0
Supercell composite
9.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

371 
WUUS54 KBMX 250222
SVRBHM
ALC089-103-133-250315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
922 PM CDT WED OCT 24 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  MADISON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA
  MORGAN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA
  WINSTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 1015 PM CDT

* AT 919 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 13 MILES NORTHWEST OF HARVEST TO
  10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HALEYVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...DECATUR...
HARTSELLE...HUNTSVILLE...MADISON...MERIDIANVILLE...MOORES MILL...
REDSTONE ARSENAL AND TRIANA.

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

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 24, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale43 min
Oct 24, 8:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert44 min
Oct 24, 8:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale48 min
Oct 24, 8:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin44 min
Oct 24, 8:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone41 min
Oct 24, 8:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert38 min
Oct 24, 8:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence38 min
Oct 24, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion46 min
Oct 24, 9:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone35 min
Oct 24, 9:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin25 min
Oct 24, 9:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston53 min
Oct 24, 9:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence17 min
Oct 24, 9:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone19 min
Oct 24, 10:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman39 min
Oct 24, 10:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson51 min
Oct 24, 10:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount49 min
Oct 24, 10:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman23 min
Oct 24, 10:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb50 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.