Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2001

Tornado Watch 848

December 13, 200111 counties in Alabama; 8 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 13, 2001, 8:15 PM CST for 11 counties in Alabama; 8 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Dec 13, 2001, 8:15 PM CST (02:15 UTC)
Expired: Dec 14, 2001, 1:00 AM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Autauga County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Perry County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Clarke County, MS, Forrest County, MS, Greene County, MS, Jones County, MS, Lamar County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Perry County, MS, Wayne County, MS

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
Dec 13, 8:30 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Forrest, Jones	45 min
Dec 13, 9:13 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Forrest, Lamar	47 min
Dec 13, 9:24 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Perry	36 min
Dec 13, 9:30 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	JAN	Forrest, Jones, Lamar	90 min
Dec 13, 9:46 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Perry	14 min
Dec 13, 9:52 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Greene, Wayne	38 min
Dec 13, 10:32 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	George, Perry, Stone	28 min
Dec 13, 10:32 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Greene	28 min
Dec 13, 10:56 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Greene, Perry	34 min
Dec 13, 11:47 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke, Wilcox	28 min
Dec 14, 12:01 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Washington	29 min

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 175 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 646 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 458 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 569 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 140217
SEL8  
SPC WW 140208
ALZ000-MSZ000-140700-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 848
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
808 PM CST THU DEC 13 2001

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

   SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL ALABAMA                            
   SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI                        

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING FROM 815 PM UNTIL
100 AM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO
60 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF LAUREL MISSISSIPPI TO 30
MILES NORTHWEST OF SELMA 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 847...

DISCUSSION...THREAT FOR SUPERCELLS EXPECTED TO PERSIST FOR A FEW 
MORE HOURS IN POCKET OF MODEST SURFACE-BASED INSTABILITY ACROSS SE
MS/SW AND CNTRL AL.  GREATEST RISK FOR LOW LEVEL STORM ROTATION/
POSSIBLE TORNADOES EXPECTED TO REMAIN NEAR INTERSECTION OF PRE
SQUALL LINE CONFLUENCE BAND...NOW NEARING HATTIESBURG...AND SHALLOW
WNW-ESE ORIENTED WARM FRONT. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23035.

...CORFIDI

305,0895 323,0883 323,0860 305,0873

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Alabama, 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.