Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2001

Tornado Watch 657

August 6, 200133 counties in Alabama; 5 counties in Florida; 13 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 6, 2001, 10:00 AM CDT for 33 counties in Alabama; 5 counties in Florida; 13 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 9 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Aug 6, 2001, 10:00 AM CDT (15:00 UTC)
Expired: Aug 6, 2001, 7:00 PM CDT
In force: 9 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 51 counties

Autauga County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Butler County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Clay County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Gadsden County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clay County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Thomas County, GA

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 110 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: 140 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -75 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 592 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 127 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 79 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.

735 
WWUS9 KMKC 061442
SEL7  
MKC WW 061436
ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-070000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 657
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
936 AM CDT MON AUG 6 2001

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

   ALABAMA                            
   NORTHWEST FLORIDA                            
   SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA                            

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING AND EVENING FROM 1000 AM UNTIL 700 PM
CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 60 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES NORTHWEST OF BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA TO 40 MILES
SOUTHEAST 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 656.  WATCH NUMBER 656 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1000 AM
CDT.

DISCUSSION...CIRCULATION ASSOCIATED WITH BARRY IS FORECAST TO MOVE
NWWD ACROSS WRN AL TODAY.  VAD WINDS TO THE EAST/SOUTHEAST OF THE
CENTER EXHIBIT SUFFICIENT VEERING/SPEED SHEAR IN THE LOWEST 2 KM TO
SUPPORT MINIATURE SUPERCELLS...ESPECIALLY THIS AFTERNOON WHEN
EFFECTS OF DIURNAL HEATING WILL ENHANCE INSTABILITY.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 16020.


...WEISS

335,0855 302,0833 302,0854 335,0881

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 5, 10:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Geneva	7 hr
Aug 6, 4:00 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Covington and 11 more	6 hr

Nearby

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