Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 31, NWS Mobile, AL

November 5, 2002Washington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 5, 2002, 9:48 AM CST for Washington County, Alabama. It was in force for 3 hr. 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 5, 2002, 9:48 AM CST (15:48 UTC)
Expired: Nov 5, 2002, 12:45 PM CST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Washington County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Nov 5, 12:00 PM CST	Tornado F0	Georgiana, AL	A weak tornado resulted in a swath of downed trees in a wooded area between Georgiana and Avant.

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, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 165 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 424 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 335 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 376 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

816 
WFUS54 KMOB 051548
TORMOB
ALC129-051630-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
948 AM CST TUE NOV 5 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 1030 AM CST

* AT 945 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHATOM...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  CHATOM BY 1000 AM CST
  JORDON BY 1005 AM CST
  YARBO...LOPER BY 1010 AM CST
  MILLRY BY 1015 AM CST

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 3139 8842 3136 8838 3154 8808 3170 8817
          3165 8833

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 5, 10:08 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Clarke	3 hr
Nov 5, 11:18 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Conecuh	6 days
Nov 5, 11:18 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Escambia	6 days
Nov 5, 11:42 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Butler	6 days
Nov 5, 12:00 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Nov 5, 12:00 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Nov 5, 12:31 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		44 min
Nov 5, 12:40 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Crenshaw	6 days
Nov 5, 1:21 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		54 min
Nov 5, 1:32 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Baldwin	10 days
Nov 5, 1:54 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Nov 5, 3:48 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		102 min
Nov 5, 3:48 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		102 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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.