Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 19, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 30, 2002Tuscaloosa County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 30, 2002, 5:16 PM CDT for Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. It was in force for 59 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Apr 30, 2002, 5:16 PM CDT (22:16 UTC)
Expired
Apr 30, 2002, 6:15 PM CDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Tuscaloosa County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 30, 5:20 PM CDTHail 2.75Fosters, ALA supercell thunderstorm moved across southern Tuscaloosa County causing considerable damage. The storm dropped hail from pea to baseball size. The hail fell across the southern areas of Tuscaloosa, Fosters, Ralph, Taylorville, and Duncanville. In the city

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 30, 2:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 70 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 2002-04-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2002-04-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 302 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1301 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
302 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
350 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBMX 302216
TORBHM
ALC125-302315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
516 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  TUSCALOOSA COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 615 PM CDT

* AT 512 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 17 MILES WEST OF NORTHPORT...MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...HOLT...
NORTHPORT...TUSCALOOSA AND VANCE.

RAIN MAY MAKE THIS TORNADO INVISIBLE. TAKE COVER NOW IF YOU WAIT
UNTIL YOU SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A SAFE
PLACE.

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

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 30, 2:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion44 min
Apr 30, 9:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion56 min
Apr 30, 9:10 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin35 min
Apr 30, 9:22 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman23 min
Apr 30, 9:22 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount38 min
Apr 30, 9:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence60 min
Apr 30, 9:42 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah, St. Clair63 min
Apr 30, 9:51 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne54 min
Apr 30, 10:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount56 min
Apr 30, 10:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan40 min
Apr 30, 10:27 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker33 min
Apr 30, 10:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega45 min
Apr 30, 10:38 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay52 min
Apr 30, 1:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount, St. Clair50 min
Apr 30, 1:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga41 min
Apr 30, 1:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar52 min
Apr 30, 2:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes26 min
Apr 30, 2:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette66 min
Apr 30, 2:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery64 min
Apr 30, 2:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga12 min
Apr 30, 2:34 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery26 min
Apr 30, 2:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery46 min
Apr 30, 3:01 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson3 hr
Apr 30, 3:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock53 min
Apr 30, 3:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin39 min
Apr 30, 4:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock25 min
Apr 30, 4:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour53 min
Apr 30, 4:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar47 min
Apr 30, 4:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens58 min
Apr 30, 4:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega40 min
Apr 30, 4:51 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXPickens39 min
Apr 30, 4:59 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBarbour31 min
Apr 30, 5:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette49 min
Apr 30, 5:39 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson3 hr
Apr 30, 5:42 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXHale48 min
Apr 30, 5:53 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXWalker3 hr
Apr 30, 6:02 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBibb58 min
Apr 30, 6:12 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXPerry63 min
Apr 30, 6:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson, Lee, Shelby56 min
Apr 30, 6:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton50 min

Nearby

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