Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 116, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 2, 2003Talladega County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 2, 2003, 7:38 PM CDT for Talladega County, Alabama. It was in force for 22 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
May 2, 2003, 7:38 PM CDT (00:38 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 2003, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
22 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Talladega County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 38 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:40 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 nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 39 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2003-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2674 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2003-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 61 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
2674 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1099 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

668 
WFUS54 KBMX 030038
TORBHM
ALC121-030100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
738 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN TALLADEGA COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 735 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHILDERSBURG...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...CHILDERSBURG AND
SYLACAUGA.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH...SEEK SHELTER NOW.
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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

LAT...LON 3319 8650 3334 8631 3322 8613 3313 8638

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas12 min
May 2, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega42 min
May 2, 7:25 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXShelby35 min
May 2, 7:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton, Coosa64 min
May 2, 7:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo32 min
May 2, 7:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes16 min
May 2, 7:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson44 min
May 2, 7:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa40 min
May 2, 7:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas, Perry64 min
May 2, 7:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers, Tallapoosa62 min
May 2, 7:48 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCoosa42 min
May 2, 7:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb, Shelby33 min
May 2, 8:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPike66 min
May 2, 8:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLee36 min
May 2, 8:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa32 min
May 2, 8:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPerry28 min
May 2, 9:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock39 min
May 2, 9:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell28 min
May 2, 10:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas45 min
May 3, 1:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter45 min
May 3, 7:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa36 min
May 3, 7:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo45 min
May 3, 8:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby43 min
May 3, 8:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes 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.