Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 28, 2002Limestone County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 2002, 8:18 PM CDT for Limestone County, Alabama. It was in force for 27 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: Apr 28, 2002, 8:18 PM CDT (01:18 UTC)
Expired: Apr 28, 2002, 8:45 PM CDT
In force: 27 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Limestone County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 28, 8:37 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Athens, AL	Dime size hail was observed in and around the city of Athens.

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
Apr 28, 4:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr
Apr 28, 8:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 148 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: 2383 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 31 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 211 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

452 
WFUS54 KBMX 290118
TORBHM
ALC083-290145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
817 PM CDT SUN APR 28 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  LIMESTONE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 845 PM CDT

* AT 818 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF ATHENS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...ATHENS AND 
MOORESVILLE. THIS WARNING IS ANN UPGRADE OF THE PREVIOUS SEVERE 
THUNDERSTORM WARNING.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH...SEEK SHELTER NOW.
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

CALL 1-800-856-0758 TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER.
LAT...LON 3499 8712 3485 8726 3457 8687 3481 8679

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 28, 7:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Madison	52 min
Apr 28, 7:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Limestone	35 min
Apr 28, 7:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jackson	39 min
Apr 28, 7:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Limestone	46 min
Apr 28, 8:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jackson	46 min
Apr 28, 8:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Madison	30 min
Apr 28, 8:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	DeKalb, Jackson	66 min
Apr 28, 8:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Madison	50 min
Apr 28, 8:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Limestone	48 min
Apr 28, 9:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cherokee	47 min
Apr 28, 9:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Calhoun, Etowah	33 min
Apr 28, 9:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marshall	26 min
Apr 28, 9:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cleburne	33 min
Apr 28, 11:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	St. Clair	25 min
Apr 28, 11:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Calhoun, Talladega	26 min
Apr 29, 12:05 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Talladega	25 min
Apr 29, 12:55 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Randolph	35 min
Apr 29, 12:58 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tallapoosa	47 min
Apr 29, 1:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson	36 min
Apr 29, 4:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marengo	39 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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.