Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2001
Tornado Warning 14, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 21, 2001, 6:03 PM CST for Dallas County, Alabama. It was in force for 27 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 21, 2001, 6:03 PM CST (00:03 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 21, 2001, 6:30 PM CST
- In force
- 27 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
County Dallas County, AL
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:03 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 6:10 PM CST | Hail 0.88 | Safford, AL | Nickel size hail fell just north of Safford. |
| Feb 21, 6:10 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 60 E | Safford, AL | A few buildings in Safford had minor to moderate roof damage. Several trees were blown down or snapped off in southwestern Dallas 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, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 106 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 287 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -12 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1021 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 45 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 181 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 0.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WFUS54 KBMX 220003 TORBHM ALC047-220030- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 603 PM CST WED FEB 21 2001 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... DALLAS COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA * UNTIL 630 PM CST * AT 601 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 6 MILES WEST OF ORRVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. * LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...ORRVILLE. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH...SEEK SHELTER NOW. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. LAT...LON 3240 8742 3223 8745 3213 8692 3235 8688
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 6:31 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Dallas | 29 min |
| Feb 21, 10:33 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Perry | 27 min |
| Feb 21, 10:48 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar, Marion | 27 min |
| Feb 21, 11:15 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar, Marion | 30 min |
| Feb 21, 11:43 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Walker | 47 min |
| Feb 22, 12:19 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 56 min |
| Feb 22, 12:44 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin | 31 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2001Every tornado warning in 2001Tornadoes 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.