Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 121, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 2002, 5:21 AM CDT for Calhoun County, Cleburne County, Alabama. It was in force for 24 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- May 3, 2002, 5:21 AM CDT (10:21 UTC)
- Expired
- May 3, 2002, 5:45 AM CDT
- In force
- 24 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Calhoun County, AL, Cleburne County, AL
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 5:30 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 E | Jacksonville, AL | One large tree and power lines were blown down in Jacksonville. |
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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 1:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 118 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
- 977 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -43 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1462 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 89 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 173 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 3.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WUUS54 KBMX 031021 SVRBHM ALC015-029-031045- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 521 AM CDT FRI MAY 3 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... CALHOUN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA CLEBURNE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA * UNTIL 545 AM CDT * AT 517 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER JACKSONVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. * LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...FRUITHURST... PIEDMONT AND WEAVER. LARGE HAIL...EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING...AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY. TAKE COVER IN A STURDY SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES. CALL 1-800-856-0758 TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER. LAT...LON 3392 8582 3371 8582 3371 8535 3395 8540
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 7:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale | 45 min |
| May 2, 8:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert | 40 min |
| May 3, 2:05 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin | 40 min |
| May 3, 2:50 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Franklin | 4 hr |
| May 3, 3:33 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar, Marion | 42 min |
| May 3, 3:58 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Lawrence, Marion, Winston | 3 hr |
| May 3, 4:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 41 min |
| May 3, 4:22 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Morgan | 3 hr |
| May 3, 4:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 30 min |
| May 3, 4:38 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | DeKalb, Jackson | 52 min |
| May 3, 4:54 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cullman | 36 min |
| May 3, 5:05 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 25 min |
| May 3, 5:06 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 24 min |
| May 3, 5:26 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 34 min |
| May 3, 7:37 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cleburne, Randolph | 23 min |
| May 3, 8:41 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 34 min |
| May 3, 9:41 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 49 min |
| May 3, 11:17 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 28 min |
| May 3, 11:20 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cullman | 40 min |
| May 3, 11:37 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Franklin, Marion | 3 hr |
| May 3, 11:58 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cullman | 32 min |
| May 3, 12:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount | 45 min |
| May 3, 12:09 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Winston | 3 hr |
| May 3, 12:20 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Cullman | 3 hr |
| May 3, 12:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Etowah | 58 min |
| May 3, 1:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 43 min |
| May 3, 1:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 51 min |
| May 3, 2:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 45 min |
| May 3, 3:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay | 30 min |
| May 3, 3:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Randolph | 41 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002
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.