Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 172, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 17, 2003Pickens County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 17, 2003, 5:42 PM CDT for Pickens County, Alabama. It was in force for 63 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 17, 2003, 5:42 PM CDT (22:42 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2003, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Pickens County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2003-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2005 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 2003-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 124 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2005 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
457 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
124 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
175 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
6.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBMX 172242
TORBHM
ALC107-172345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
542 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  PICKENS COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 645 PM CDT

* AT 537 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 14 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ALICEVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20
  MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...ALICEVILLE...
CARROLLTON...MCMULLEN AND PICKENSVILLE.

SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM...SUCH AS A CLOSET...BATHROOM...
BASEMENT...OR HALLWAY. CLOSE ALL DOORS. USE BLANKETS...QUILTS...OR
PILLOWS TO COVER YOURSELF.

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

LAT...LON 3300 8833 3298 8817 3325 8784 3341 8824

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 10:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar52 min
May 17, 10:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion58 min
May 17, 12:45 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXLamar, Marion6 hr
May 17, 1:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMX41 min
May 17, 1:53 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa47 min
May 17, 2:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter33 min
May 17, 2:39 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa31 min
May 17, 2:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene39 min
May 17, 2:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson, Walker32 min
May 17, 2:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson47 min
May 17, 3:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson42 min
May 17, 3:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa37 min
May 17, 3:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson39 min
May 17, 3:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa25 min
May 17, 4:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount24 min
May 17, 4:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson41 min
May 17, 4:56 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXSumter64 min
May 17, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene64 min
May 17, 5:59 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXPickens, Sumter4 hr
May 17, 6:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter59 min
May 17, 6:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair45 min
May 17, 6:30 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa60 min
May 17, 6:39 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXSumter36 min
May 17, 6:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa, Shelby, Talladega39 min
May 17, 6:58 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCoosa, Talladega32 min
May 17, 6:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo61 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.