Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 51, NWS Mobile, AL

December 19, 2002Monroe County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Dec 19, 2002, 3:51 PM CST for Monroe County, Alabama. It was in force for 4 days. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Dec 19, 2002, 3:51 PM CST (21:51 UTC)
Expired: Dec 24, 2002, 3:15 AM CST
In force: 4 days
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Monroe County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 159 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:51 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Dec 19, 11:40 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 170 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: 279 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -16 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 635 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 309 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 360 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.6
Supercell composite: 2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

666 
WFUS54 KMOB 192151
TORMOB
ALC099-192230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
350 PM CST THU DEC 19 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 430 PM CST

* AT 346 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MT PLEASANT...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  CHRYSLER BY 355 PM CST
  HOMEWOOD BY 400 PM CST
  MANISTEE BY 410 PM CST
  MEGARGEL BY 415 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.

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 3134 8776 3128 8763 3134 8738 3147 8745

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, 12:59 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Washington	4 days
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, 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

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.