Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 681

September 14, 200217 counties in Alabama; 10 counties in Florida; Clay County, Early County, Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 14, 2002, 3:55 AM CDT for 17 counties in Alabama; 10 counties in Florida; Clay County, Early County, Georgia. It was in force for 8 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Sep 14, 2002, 3:55 AM CDT (08:55 UTC)
Expired: Sep 14, 2002, 12:00 PM CDT
In force: 8 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 29 counties

Baldwin County, AL, Butler County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Escambia County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Clay County, GA, Early County, GA

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:58 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.

Warnings issued inside it

2 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 14, 8:02 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Mobile	118 min
Sep 14, 9:17 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Mobile	11 days

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 225 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: 704 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 700 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 41 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 3 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 140855
SEL1  
SPC WW 140855
ALZ000-FLZ000-141700-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 681
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
355 AM CDT SAT SEP 14 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTHERN ALABAMA                            
   WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE                           
   COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY MORNING FROM 355 AM UNTIL NOON CDT.

TORNADOES...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF MOBILE ALABAMA TO
25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MARIANNA FLORIDA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.


DISCUSSION...TROPICAL STORM HANNA WILL MAKE LANDFALL NEAR THE AL
BOOTHEEL REGION/MS COAST LATER THIS MORNING.  RESULTANT INCREASE IN
LOW LEVEL SHEAR ALONG AND JUST EAST OF THIS TRACK WILL SUBSEQUENTLY
INCREASE THE THREAT OF A FEW TORNADOES WITHIN BANDS ROTATING INLAND
THROUGH THE MORNING.  


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME
TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI
WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 300.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 18030.


...EVANS

321,0883 313,0845 293,0845 301,0883

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2002 Tornado Watches in Florida, 2002 Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2002 Every tornado watch 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.