Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 72, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 11, 2002Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 11, 2002, 12:40 AM CST for Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 35 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
Nov 11, 2002, 12:40 AM CST (06:40 UTC)
Expired
Nov 11, 2002, 1:15 AM CST
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Shelby County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 16 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:42 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
Nov 10, 10:05 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 17 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 2002-11-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2257 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 2002-11-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 277 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

280 
WFUS54 KBMX 110640
TORBHM
ALC117-110715-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1240 AM CST MON NOV 11 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SHELBY COUNTY IN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 115 AM CST

* AT 1237 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER COLUMBIANA...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...COLUMBIANA AND
WILSONVILLE.

SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM...SUCH AS A CLOSET...BATHROOM...
BASEMENT...OR HALLWAY. CLOSE ALL DOORS. USE BLANKETS...QUILTS...OR
PILLOWS TO COVER YOURSELF.

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

LAT...LON 3323 8668 3309 8668 3309 8653 3332 8641

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 10, 6:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar51 min
Nov 10, 6:21 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette54 min
Nov 10, 6:28 PM CSTTornado Warning EmergencyBMXFayette, Lamar47 min
Nov 10, 6:41 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin, Marion49 min
Nov 10, 7:00 PM CSTTornado Warning EmergencyBMXMarion, Walker45 min
Nov 10, 7:02 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert28 min
Nov 10, 7:07 PM CSTTornado Warning EmergencyBMXWinston53 min
Nov 10, 7:19 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLamar, Pickens41 min
Nov 10, 7:40 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXCullman50 min
Nov 10, 7:53 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette52 min
Nov 10, 7:54 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette51 min
Nov 10, 8:04 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXPickens56 min
Nov 10, 8:11 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMarshall, Morgan64 min
Nov 10, 8:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert, Franklin48 min
Nov 10, 8:25 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXWalker50 min
Nov 10, 8:40 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMadison35 min
Nov 10, 8:49 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXWinston26 min
Nov 10, 8:52 PM CSTTornado Warning EmergencyBMXCullman53 min
Nov 10, 8:55 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette35 min
Nov 10, 9:09 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXPickens36 min
Nov 10, 9:12 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJackson, Marshall63 min
Nov 10, 9:15 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXWalker45 min
Nov 10, 9:36 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa39 min
Nov 10, 9:42 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXCullman18 min
Nov 10, 10:00 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXGreene30 min
Nov 10, 10:03 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXBlount, Etowah42 min
Nov 10, 10:14 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa31 min
Nov 10, 10:14 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJackson, Marshall46 min
Nov 10, 10:23 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson52 min
Nov 10, 10:34 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXSt. Clair26 min
Nov 10, 10:43 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa32 min
Nov 10, 10:45 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXEtowah, Greene, Sumter45 min
Nov 10, 11:07 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXSt. Clair38 min
Nov 10, 11:10 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXCherokee50 min
Nov 10, 11:22 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXHale38 min
Nov 10, 11:39 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun, Talladega36 min
Nov 10, 11:41 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXSumter34 min
Nov 10, 11:49 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXBibb41 min
Nov 11, 12:10 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega35 min
Nov 11, 12:12 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun, Cleburne33 min
Nov 11, 12:13 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXGreene17 min
Nov 11, 12:21 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXShelby24 min
Nov 11, 12:26 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale34 min
Nov 11, 12:27 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun, Talladega33 min
Nov 11, 12:42 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXCleburne48 min
Nov 11, 12:52 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXClay, Talladega38 min
Nov 11, 1:31 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay, Randolph44 min
Nov 11, 1:36 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton24 min
Nov 11, 1:42 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXClay, Randolph33 min
Nov 11, 1:55 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLee35 min
Nov 11, 1:55 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Coosa, Elmore65 min
Nov 11, 2:11 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXRandolph49 min
Nov 11, 2:24 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa36 min
Nov 11, 2:38 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXTallapoosa37 min
Nov 11, 2:54 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXChambers36 min
Nov 11, 3:03 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Lowndes, Montgomery57 min
Nov 11, 5:57 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXPike33 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.