Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 58, NWS Mobile, AL

December 24, 2002Clarke County, Washington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Dec 24, 2002, 3:02 AM CST for Clarke County, Washington County, Alabama. It was in force for 43 min. 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 24, 2002, 3:02 AM CST (09:02 UTC)
Expired: Dec 24, 2002, 3:45 AM CST
In force: 43 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Clarke County, AL, Washington County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:03 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 24, 3:20 AM CST	Tornado F0	Walker Spgs, AL	A weak tornado briefly touched down near Walker Springs. Several trees were blown down.
Dec 24, 3:45 AM CST	Thunderstorm Wind 60 E	Chatom, AL	High winds from a thunderstorm caused roof damage to a couple of businesses in Chatom. The most significant damage occurred at an automobile dealership. Part of the roof at the dealership was peeled off and some of the debris damaged several new vehicles th

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 24, 2:30 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 00:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 207 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: 588 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 285 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 398 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.

934 
WFUS54 KMOB 240902
TORMOB
ALC025-129-240945-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
302 AM CST TUE DEC 24 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 345 AM CST

* AT 258 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ST STEPHENS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  CARSON BY 310 AM CST
  JACKSON BY 315 AM CST
  WINN...WALKER SPRINGS BY 320 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.

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 3147 8830 3135 8815 3155 8774 3180 8796

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 23, 8:35 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		25 min
Dec 23, 9:54 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Washington	7 days
Dec 23, 10:32 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		43 min
Dec 24, 2:07 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		38 min
Dec 24, 2:09 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		36 min
Dec 24, 2:19 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Clarke, Washington	7 days
Dec 24, 2:23 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		37 min
Dec 24, 2:36 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Monroe	7 days
Dec 24, 2:40 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Choctaw	7 days
Dec 24, 3:18 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		42 min
Dec 24, 3:33 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		117 min
Dec 24, 3:33 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		117 min
Dec 24, 3:52 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Monroe	38 min
Dec 24, 4:14 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		46 min
Dec 24, 4:17 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		43 min
Dec 24, 4:28 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		17 min
Dec 24, 4:52 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		38 min
Dec 24, 6:13 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Dec 24, 6:20 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		40 min
Dec 24, 6:25 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Dec 24, 7:00 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		45 min
Dec 24, 7:26 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB		34 min
Dec 24, 8:18 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Crenshaw	117 min
Dec 24, 8:29 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		61 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.