Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Tallahassee, FL

March 12, 2002Coffee County, Alabama

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 12, 2002, 12:23 PM CST for Coffee County, Alabama. It was in force for 197 days. 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: Mar 12, 2002, 12:23 PM CST (18:23 UTC)
Expired: Sep 25, 2002, 7:00 PM CDT
In force: 197 days
Issued by: NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Coffee County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 20, 5:20 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Geneva, AL	Downed trees on County Roads 16 and 61, as well as Highway 167. Reported by the Geneva County EMA.

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

Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), launched 12:00Z, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 102 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: 261 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 449 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 123 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 171 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KTAE 121823
TORTLH
ALC031-121845-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
1222 PM CST TUE MAR 12 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN COFFEE COUNTY IN ALABAMA
  THIS INCLUDES ELBA...

* UNTIL 1245 PM CST...

* AT 1213 PM CST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 12 MILES WEST OF ELBA...OR ABOUT 5 MILES NORTH
  OF OPP...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...ABANDON YOUR MOBILE HOME FOR
A REINFORCED SHELTER.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF
THIS TORNADO...MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE.
OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.

LAT...LON 3127 8641 3125 8637 3153 8579 3172 8602

.END

18-WOOL

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 12, 11:54 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Coffee, Dale	21 min
Mar 12, 12:03 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Coffee	197 days
Mar 12, 2:12 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Henry	197 days

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.