Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002
Tornado Warning 47, NWS Mobile, AL
NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Dec 19, 2002, 12:59 PM CST for Washington County, Alabama; Greene County, Mississippi. It was in force for 4 days. 2 reports 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
- Dec 19, 2002, 12:59 PM CST (18:59 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 23, 2002, 10:00 PM CST
- In force
- 4 days
- Issued by
- NWS Mobile, AL
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Washington County, AL, Greene County, MS
The radar
The Mobile radar (KMOB), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:01 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 19, 1:20 PM CST | Hail 0.75 | Fruitdale, AL | |
| Dec 23, 10:00 PM CST | Tornado F0 | Fruitdale, AL | A weak tornado briefly touched down near Fruitdale. Several trees were blown down. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 19, 9:35 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
| Dec 19, 11:40 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 158 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
- 668 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 480 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 304 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 417 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 5.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
741 WFUS54 KMOB 191859 TORMOB ALC129-MSC041-191930- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 1259 PM CST THU DEC 19 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... WASHINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA GREENE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI * UNTIL 130 PM CST * AT 1256 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 4 MILES EAST OF JONATHAN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH. * THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... ESCATAWPA...FRUITDALE BY 110 PM 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. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT. THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF IN A MOBILE HOME OR VEHICLE...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. LAT...LON 3122 8871 3109 8857 3125 8827 3146 8835
The office that day
Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 19, 11:28 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 47 min | |
| Dec 19, 11:48 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Washington | 4 days |
| Dec 19, 11:53 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 52 min | |
| Dec 19, 12:31 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 44 min | |
| Dec 19, 1:32 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Washington | 4 days |
| Dec 19, 1:51 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Clarke | 5 days |
| Dec 19, 2:57 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 33 min | |
| Dec 19, 3:22 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Clarke, Washington | 4 days |
| Dec 19, 3:51 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Monroe | 4 days |
| Dec 19, 4:11 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 34 min | |
| Dec 19, 4:29 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 46 min | |
| Dec 19, 4:53 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 22 min | |
| Dec 19, 5:00 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 30 min | |
| Dec 19, 5:13 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 47 min | |
| Dec 19, 5:16 PM CST | Special Marine Warning | MOB | 44 min | |
| Dec 19, 5:16 PM CST | Special Marine Warning | MOB | 44 min | |
| Dec 19, 5:39 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 66 min | |
| Dec 19, 5:57 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | 33 min | |
| Dec 19, 11:42 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Greene | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2002Tornado Warnings in Mississippi, 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.