Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 410, NWS Birmingham, AL

August 27, 2003Calhoun County, Cherokee County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 27, 2003, 4:23 PM CDT for Calhoun County, Cherokee County, Alabama. It was in force for 37 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Aug 27, 2003, 4:23 PM CDT (21:23 UTC)
Expired: Aug 27, 2003, 5:00 PM CDT
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Calhoun County, AL, Cherokee County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 109 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:26 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 131 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: 1212 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1094 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 7 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -14 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 16 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.

325 
WUUS54 KBMX 272123
SVRBHM
ALC015-019-272200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
423 PM CDT WED AUG 27 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CALHOUN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA
  CHEROKEE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 500 PM CDT

* AT 420 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER NEW LIBERTY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...BALL FLAT...
CENTRE...PIEDMONT AND POPE.

LARGE HAIL...EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING...AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY.
TAKE COVER IN A STURDY SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.

CALL 1-800-856-0758 TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER.

LAT...LON 3404 8546 3381 8576 3391 8594 3396 8582
          3396 8574 3408 8578 3420 8565

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 27, 2:00 PM CDT, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 27, 2:00 PM CDT, 2 hours 23 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
200 PM CDT WED AUG 27 2003

LITTLE CHANGE EXPECTED IN CURRENT WEATHER PATTERN THROUGH FRIDAY AS
A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE REMAINS OVER THE REGION. WE SHOULD SEE
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY, MAINLY DURING THE
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. THE MODELS HAVE BEEN SUGGESTING SOME
CHANGE FOR THE WEEKEND WITH THE GULF OPENING UP AND MOISTURE
INCREASING. A TROPICAL WAVE IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE EASTERN GULF
OF MEXICO THEN NORTH ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST U.S. BECAUSE OF THIS I HAVE
DECREASED WEEKEND HIGH TEMPERATURES JUST A BIT AND INCREASED THE
POPS.

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS...
BHM 73 90 72 90 72 / 20 30 20 30
MGM 74 91 73 91 73 / 20 30 20 30

.BHM...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 27, 1:16 PM CDT, 3 hours 7 minutes before

ALZ011>015-017>050-272000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
116 PM CDT WED AUG 27 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM.

.DAY ONE (THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT)...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN (THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL
WILL NOT BE NECESSARY THROUGH TONIGHT.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 27, 4:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar, Pickens	35 min
Aug 27, 5:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	St. Clair	35 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2003 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2003

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.