Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2001

Tornado Watch 41

March 2, 200129 counties in Alabama

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 2, 2001, 2:00 PM CST for 29 counties in Alabama. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Mar 2, 2001, 2:00 PM CST (20:00 UTC)
Expired: Mar 2, 2001, 7:00 PM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 29 counties

Autauga County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Butler County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:59 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.

Warnings issued inside it

9 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 2, 2:53 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Choctaw	67 min
Mar 2, 3:08 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Choctaw	52 min
Mar 2, 3:14 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Montgomery	31 min
Mar 2, 3:24 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke	66 min
Mar 2, 4:19 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Washington	41 min
Mar 2, 4:50 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Dallas	40 min
Mar 2, 5:03 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Dallas	42 min
Mar 2, 5:24 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lee, Russell	36 min
Mar 2, 6:06 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Montgomery	39 min

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 133 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: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 454 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 108 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 116 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS9 KMKC 021936
SEL1  

SEL1  
MKC WW 021931
ALZ000-030100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 41
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
131 PM CST FRI MAR 2 2001

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTHERN ALABAMA                            

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 200 PM UNTIL 700
PM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 90 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF SELMA ALABAMA TO 40
MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF DOTHAN ALABAMA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 40...

DISCUSSION...LOW HAS DEVELOPED INTO SERN MS ALONG  FRONTAL
BOUNDARY. AIRMASS EWD ACROSS SRN AL IS NOW MODERATELY UNSTABLE AND
BECOMING FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS AS LOW LEVEL WINDS INCREASE. 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN SERN MS WILL INTENSIFY FURTHER
AS THEY MOVE ACROSS SRN AL WITH THREAT OF ISOLATED TORNADOES.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTRSEME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...HALES

;323,0882 323,0851 310,0851 310,0882;

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2001 Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.