Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 29, 2002Cullman County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 29, 2002, 11:10 PM CST for Cullman County, Alabama. It was in force for 20 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 29, 2002, 11:10 PM CST (05:10 UTC)
Expired
Mar 29, 2002, 11:30 PM CST
In force
20 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cullman County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 88 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:12 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Mar 29, 8:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 5.2 hours before the alert went out and 122 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 2002-03-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1146 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 2002-03-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 123 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1146 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1460 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
123 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
308 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
6.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

810 
WFUS54 KBMX 300510
TORBHM
ALC043-300530-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1109 PM CST FRI MAR 29 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEAST CULLMAN COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 1130 PM CST

* AT 1107 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER BAILEYTON...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...BAILEYTON.

THIS STORM SHOWS STRONG ROTATION AND MAY PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY
TIME. DO NOT WAIT. GO TO A SAFE PLACE NOW PUT AS MANY WALLS BETWEEN
YOU AND THE OUTSIDE AS POSSIBLE.

IF YOU SEE WIND DAMAGE...LARGE HAIL OR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING...WAIT
UNTIL AFTER THE STORM HAS PASSED...AND THEN CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE TOLL FREE AT 1, 800, 8 5 6, 0 7 5 8.

LAT...LON 3429 8674 3420 8661 3428 8645 3430 8654

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 29, 8:41 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin34 min
Mar 29, 8:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence64 min
Mar 29, 9:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan57 min
Mar 29, 9:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin45 min
Mar 29, 9:38 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMorgan52 min
Mar 29, 9:39 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone36 min
Mar 29, 9:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence46 min
Mar 29, 10:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison45 min
Mar 29, 10:08 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLawrence37 min
Mar 29, 10:19 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMadison41 min
Mar 29, 10:27 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMarshall48 min
Mar 29, 10:28 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMorgan47 min
Mar 29, 11:11 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMarshall34 min
Mar 29, 11:22 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb38 min
Mar 29, 11:44 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMarshall31 min
Mar 29, 11:55 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb65 min
Mar 30, 12:04 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXEtowah41 min
Mar 30, 12:05 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXCherokee40 min
Mar 30, 12:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee30 min
Mar 30, 1:39 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall51 min
Mar 30, 1:40 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Marion50 min
Mar 30, 1:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman45 min
Mar 30, 2:26 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette49 min
Mar 30, 2:34 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion26 min
Mar 30, 2:43 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker47 min
Mar 30, 3:16 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman, Winston44 min
Mar 30, 9:35 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa25 min
Mar 30, 9:58 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson47 min
Mar 30, 10:34 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby41 min
Mar 30, 10:47 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson38 min
Mar 30, 11:13 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby17 min
Mar 30, 11:18 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega42 min
Mar 30, 11:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay45 min
Mar 30, 12:04 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega41 min
Mar 30, 12:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRandolph35 min
Mar 30, 12:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRandolph20 min
Mar 30, 2:23 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb37 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.