Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002
Tornado Warning 59, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 10, 2002, 10:34 PM CST for St. Clair County, Alabama. It was in force for 26 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
- Nov 10, 2002, 10:34 PM CST (04:34 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 10, 2002, 11:00 PM CST
- In force
- 26 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County St. Clair County, AL
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:37 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 10:41 PM CST | Tornado F1 | Steele, AL | A weak tornado touched down on Chandler Mountain causing minor damage to about three houses and downing several trees. The tornado came off the mountain (plateau) and damaged one structured and downed trees at the base of the mountain before dissipating. No |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 4:35 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
| Nov 10, 10:05 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 94 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2257 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 800 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 64 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 277 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 331 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 4.4
- Supercell composite
- 15.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
214 WFUS54 KBMX 110434 TORBHM ALC115-110500- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1035 PM CST SUN NOV 10 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... ST. CLAIR COUNTY IN ALABAMA * UNTIL 1100 PM CST * AT 1032 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 8 MILES WEST OF ASHVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. * LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...ASHVILLE AND STEELE. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. EVACUATE MOBILE HOMES...GO TO A STURDY BUILDING. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OR A BASEMENT. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. CALL 1-800-856-0758 TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER. LAT...LON 3396 8618 3378 8607 3379 8644 3395 8629
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 6:09 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 51 min |
| Nov 10, 6:21 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 54 min |
| Nov 10, 6:28 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar | 47 min |
| Nov 10, 6:41 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin, Marion | 49 min |
| Nov 10, 7:00 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion, Walker | 45 min |
| Nov 10, 7:02 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert | 28 min |
| Nov 10, 7:07 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 53 min |
| Nov 10, 7:19 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lamar, Pickens | 41 min |
| Nov 10, 7:40 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cullman | 50 min |
| Nov 10, 7:53 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette | 52 min |
| Nov 10, 7:54 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette | 51 min |
| Nov 10, 8:04 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pickens | 56 min |
| Nov 10, 8:11 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marshall, Morgan | 64 min |
| Nov 10, 8:12 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin | 48 min |
| Nov 10, 8:25 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Walker | 50 min |
| Nov 10, 8:40 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Madison | 35 min |
| Nov 10, 8:49 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 26 min |
| Nov 10, 8:52 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cullman | 53 min |
| Nov 10, 8:55 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette | 35 min |
| Nov 10, 9:09 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pickens | 36 min |
| Nov 10, 9:12 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jackson, Marshall | 63 min |
| Nov 10, 9:15 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Walker | 45 min |
| Nov 10, 9:36 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 39 min |
| Nov 10, 9:42 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cullman | 18 min |
| Nov 10, 10:00 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Greene | 30 min |
| Nov 10, 10:03 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount, Etowah | 42 min |
| Nov 10, 10:14 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 31 min |
| Nov 10, 10:14 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jackson, Marshall | 46 min |
| Nov 10, 10:23 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 52 min |
| Nov 10, 10:43 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 32 min |
| Nov 10, 10:45 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Etowah, Greene, Sumter | 45 min |
| Nov 10, 11:07 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 38 min |
| Nov 10, 11:10 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 50 min |
| Nov 10, 11:22 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Hale | 38 min |
| Nov 10, 11:39 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Talladega | 36 min |
| Nov 10, 11:41 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Sumter | 34 min |
| Nov 10, 11:49 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Bibb | 41 min |
| Nov 11, 12:10 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 35 min |
| Nov 11, 12:12 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Cleburne | 33 min |
| Nov 11, 12:13 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Greene | 17 min |
| Nov 11, 12:21 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Shelby | 24 min |
| Nov 11, 12:26 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Hale | 34 min |
| Nov 11, 12:27 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Talladega | 33 min |
| Nov 11, 12:40 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Shelby | 35 min |
| Nov 11, 12:42 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cleburne | 48 min |
| Nov 11, 12:52 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Clay, Talladega | 38 min |
| Nov 11, 1:31 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay, Randolph | 44 min |
| Nov 11, 1:36 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton | 24 min |
| Nov 11, 1:42 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Clay, Randolph | 33 min |
| Nov 11, 1:55 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lee | 35 min |
| Nov 11, 1:55 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga, Coosa, Elmore | 65 min |
| Nov 11, 2:11 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Randolph | 49 min |
| Nov 11, 2:24 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 36 min |
| Nov 11, 2:38 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 37 min |
| Nov 11, 2:54 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Chambers | 36 min |
| Nov 11, 3:03 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Elmore, Lowndes, Montgomery | 57 min |
| Nov 11, 5:57 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pike | 33 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.