Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 27, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 17, 2002St. Clair County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 17, 2002, 7:37 PM CDT for St. Clair County, Alabama. It was in force for 38 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 17, 2002, 7:37 PM CDT (00:37 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2002, 8:15 PM CDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County St. Clair County, AL

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 17, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 74 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 2002-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1394 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 00:00Z on 2002-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 167 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1394 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
724 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
167 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
185 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
4.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBMX 180037
TORBHM
ALC115-180115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
738 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ST. CLAIR COUNTY IN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 815 PM CDT

* AT 732 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PELL CITY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35
  MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...PELL CITY AND
RIVERSIDE.

IF YOU ARE NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...TAKE COVER IN AN INTERIOR
ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR...OR A BASEMENT. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES AND
VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

TAKE COVER NOW TORNADOES AT NIGHT ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT
WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO...IT MAY BE TOO LATE.

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
May 17, 7:05 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa40 min
May 17, 7:11 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXShelby34 min
May 17, 7:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPerry43 min
May 17, 7:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb, Chilton, Shelby26 min
May 17, 8:15 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTalladega30 min
May 17, 8:36 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun24 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.