Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 167, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 16, 2003Marion County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 16, 2003, 1:15 PM CDT for Marion County, Alabama. It was in force for 30 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 16, 2003, 1:15 PM CDT (18:15 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 2003, 1:45 PM CDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Marion County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 171 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 12:00Z on 2003-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 911 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 12:00Z on 2003-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 33 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
911 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
639 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
33 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
136 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBMX 161815
TORBHM
ALC093-161845-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
115 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MARION COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 145 PM CDT

* AT 111 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF BEXAR...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...BEXAR.

IF YOU ARE NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...TAKE COVER IN AN INTERIOR
ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR...OR A BASEMENT. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES AND
VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

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

LAT...LON 3433 8817 3417 8819 3424 8796 3432 8791

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 1:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker, Winston55 min
May 16, 1:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion30 min
May 16, 2:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Marion60 min
May 16, 2:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker59 min
May 16, 2:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah21 min
May 16, 2:54 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXWalker51 min
May 16, 3:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette58 min
May 16, 3:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker59 min
May 16, 3:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson65 min
May 16, 4:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair54 min
May 16, 4:59 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson4 hr
May 16, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson30 min
May 16, 5:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega51 min
May 16, 5:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby37 min
May 16, 5:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa41 min
May 16, 5:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega9 min
May 16, 5:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby33 min
May 16, 5:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega46 min
May 16, 6:02 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXTalladega3 hr
May 16, 6:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay25 min
May 16, 6:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa31 min
May 16, 6:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa58 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.