Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 322, NWS Birmingham, AL

August 20, 2002Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 20, 2002, 6:12 PM CDT for Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 63 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
Aug 20, 2002, 6:12 PM CDT (23:12 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 2002, 7:15 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Shelby County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:14 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 20, 6:39 PM CDTHail 0.88Columbiana, ALNickel size hail was observed just north of Columbiana on CR 49.

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 nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 26 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2002-08-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1890 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2002-08-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 52 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1890 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-63 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
786 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
64 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.

089 
WUUS54 KBMX 202312
SVRBHM
ALC117-210015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
612 PM CDT TUE AUG 20 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SHELBY COUNTY IN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 715 PM CDT

* AT 604 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES NORTH OF VINCENT...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT
  15 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...ALABASTER...
COLUMBIANA AND PELHAM.

STRONG DAMAGING WIND...AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM.
TAKE COVER IN A STURDY SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.

CALL 1-800-856-0758 TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER.

LAT...LON 3325 8688 3354 8651 3350 8648 3350 8639
          3338 8638 3309 8664

The office that day

Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 2:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson32 min
Aug 20, 2:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison37 min
Aug 20, 2:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb51 min
Aug 20, 3:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison28 min
Aug 20, 3:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert35 min
Aug 20, 3:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall33 min
Aug 20, 3:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale44 min
Aug 20, 3:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan25 min
Aug 20, 3:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah34 min
Aug 20, 3:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan27 min
Aug 20, 3:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount39 min
Aug 20, 3:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman52 min
Aug 20, 4:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale28 min
Aug 20, 4:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah24 min
Aug 20, 4:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah51 min
Aug 20, 4:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah50 min
Aug 20, 4:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount49 min
Aug 20, 4:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin, Lee28 min
Aug 20, 4:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa23 min
Aug 20, 4:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa49 min
Aug 20, 4:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman48 min
Aug 20, 4:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert31 min
Aug 20, 4:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne27 min
Aug 20, 4:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston36 min
Aug 20, 4:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLee32 min
Aug 20, 5:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa14 min
Aug 20, 5:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin44 min
Aug 20, 5:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun, Etowah42 min
Aug 20, 5:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence25 min
Aug 20, 5:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson52 min
Aug 20, 5:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega42 min
Aug 20, 5:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMacon39 min
Aug 20, 5:45 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCalhoun2 hr
Aug 20, 6:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMacon30 min
Aug 20, 6:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery50 min
Aug 20, 6:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega42 min
Aug 20, 6:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette, Lamar39 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.