Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 327, NWS Birmingham, AL

August 20, 2002Montgomery County, Pickens County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 20, 2002, 7:12 PM CDT for Montgomery County, Pickens County, Alabama. It was in force for 48 min. 2 reports 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, 7:12 PM CDT (00:12 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 2002, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Montgomery County, AL, Pickens County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 20, 7:38 PM CDTHail 0.75Montgomery, ALDime size hail was reported at the intersection of Interstate 65 and US 31.
Aug 20, 7:41 PM CDTHail 0.88Montgomery, ALNickel size hail was observed south of Montgomery along Interstate 65.

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 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 107 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 00:00Z on 2002-08-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3452 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2002-08-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 16 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
3452 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1210 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
47 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.

484 
WUUS54 KBMX 210012
SVRBHM
ALC101-210100-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  MONTGOMERY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 707 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER MONTGOMERY...MOVING WEST AT 20 MPH.

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 3235 8639 3222 8624 3231 8599 3244 8617

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 7:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers41 min
Aug 20, 7:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby47 min
Aug 20, 7:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa57 min
Aug 20, 7:28 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXMontgomery92 min
Aug 20, 7:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton59 min
Aug 20, 7:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes62 min
Aug 20, 8:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb34 min
Aug 20, 9:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas39 min
Aug 20, 9:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour52 min
Aug 20, 9:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale26 min
Aug 20, 9:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo52 min
Aug 20, 9:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter46 min
Aug 20, 10:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock45 min
Aug 20, 10:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPike41 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.