Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 29, NWS Mobile, AL

October 20, 2002Covington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 20, 2002, 6:39 PM CDT for Covington County, Alabama. It was in force for 36 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
Oct 20, 2002, 6:39 PM CDT (23:39 UTC)
Expired
Oct 20, 2002, 7:15 PM CDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Covington County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Oct 20, 6:50 PM CDTTornado F0Libertyville, ALA weak tornado briefly touched down near the community of Carolina, west of Libertyville. The tornado blew down several trees and also did minor roof damage to several homes. No injuries were reported.

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 nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 219 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 2002-10-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 74 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 12:00Z on 2002-10-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 80 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
74 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
532 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
80 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
73 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KMOB 202339
TORMOB
ALC039-210015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
639 PM CDT SUN OCT 20 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  COVINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 715 PM CDT

* AT 634 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND PUBLIC  
  REPORTS INDICATED A TORNADO 4 MILES SOUTHEAST                      
  OF LIBERTYVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  SANFORD BY 645 PM CDT
  GREEN BAY BY 650 PM CDT
  ONYCHA...BABBIE BY 655 PM CDT
  OPP BY 705 PM CDT

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...ABANDON VEHICLES AND TRAILER
HOMES AND SEEK A REINFORCED SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

LAT...LON 3125 8655 3108 8646 3119 8620 3140 8622

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 20, 2:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOB51 min
Oct 20, 3:09 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBClarke, Monroe16 days
Oct 20, 4:01 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBMonroe16 days

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.