Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2001

Tornado Watch 45

March 3, 200112 counties in Alabama; 8 counties in Florida; 6 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 3, 2001, 3:00 PM CST for 12 counties in Alabama; 8 counties in Florida; 6 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Mar 3, 2001, 3:00 PM CST (21:00 UTC)
Expired: Mar 3, 2001, 9:00 PM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 26 counties

Baldwin County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Covington County, AL, Dale County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Washington County, AL, Calhoun County, FL, Escambia County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jackson County, MS, Perry County, MS, Stone County, MS

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:01 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 3, 3:47 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke, Washington	28 min
Mar 3, 5:15 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington and 7 more	6 hr
Mar 3, 6:05 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Conecuh, Covington, Escambia	25 min
Mar 3, 6:56 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Coffee, Geneva	49 min
Mar 3, 7:15 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Walton	45 min
Mar 3, 7:20 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Dale, Houston	40 min
Mar 3, 7:36 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Holmes, Washington	54 min
Mar 3, 7:41 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Henry	34 min
Mar 3, 7:51 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Henry	39 min
Mar 3, 7:56 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Houston	49 min
Mar 3, 8:04 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Jackson	41 min

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 221 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: 40 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -187 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 977 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 80 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 139 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS9 KMKC 032032
SEL5  

SEL5  
WWUS9 KMKC 032026
MKC WW 032026
ALZ000-FLZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-040300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 45
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
226 PM CST SAT MAR 3 2001

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

   SOUTHERN ALABAMA                            
   WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE                            
   SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI                        
   COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 300 PM UNTIL 900
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 50 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF GULFPORT
MISSISSIPPI TO 15 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF MARIANNA FLORIDA.

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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 43.  WATCH NUMBER 43 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 300 PM CST. 
CONTINUE...WW 44...

DISCUSSION...SURFACE LOW DEEPENING OVER SWRN MS WITH WARM FRONT
EXTENDING EWD JUST INLAND FROM GULF COAST.  AS STRONG TROUGH
ROTATES TOWARD AREA ACROSS TX...WIND FIELDS AT ALL LEVELS WILL
INCREASE.  WITH FAVORABLE SHEAR PROFILES IN PLACE AND VERY MOIST
UNSTABLE AIRMASS S OF WARM FRONT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO
INCREASE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS FROM W TO E.  ISOLATED SUPERCELLS AND
TORNADOES ARE LIKELY...PARTICULARLY VICINITY WARM FRONT.


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


...HALES

;312,0891 314,0850 301,0850 300,0891;

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 3, 4:30 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Baldwin, Barbour, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw and 7 more	6 hr
Mar 3, 9:45 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baldwin, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Escambia, Geneva and 3 more	5 hr
Mar 3, 12:15 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Hancock, Pearl River	4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2001 Tornado Watches in Florida, 2001 Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 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.