Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 192, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 18, 2003Blount County, St. Clair County, Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 18, 2003, 1:03 PM CST for Blount County, St. Clair County, Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 42 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: Nov 18, 2003, 1:03 PM CST (19:03 UTC)
Expired: Nov 18, 2003, 1:45 PM CST
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Blount County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 18 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:04 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Nov 18, 11:25 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 18 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1123 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 319 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 389 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.

000 
WFUS54 KBMX 181903
TORBHM
ALC117-181945-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
102 PM CST TUE NOV 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SHELBY COUNTY IN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 145 PM CST

* AT 1259 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER MONTEVALLO...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...ALABASTER...
CALERA...CHELSEA...COLUMBIANA...HARPERSVILLE...LEEDS...MONTEVALLO...
OAK MOUNTAIN STATE PARK...SHELBY CO AIRPORT...VANDIVER AND VINCENT.

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

RAIN MAY MAKE THIS TORNADO INVISIBLE. TAKE COVER NOW IF YOU WAIT
UNTIL YOU SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A SAFE
PLACE.

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

LAT...LON 3333 8676 3360 8655 3346 8633 3308 8669
          3308 8695

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WFUS54 KBMX 181903 RRA
TORBHM
ALC009-115-181945-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
102 PM CST TUE NOV 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN BLOUNT COUNTY IN ALABAMA
  NORTHERN ST. CLAIR COUNTY IN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 145 PM CST

* AT 1259 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LOCUST FORK...MOVING EAST AROUND  
40 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...ALLGOOD...
ASHVILLE...HIGHLAND LAKE...LOCUST FORK...ONEONTA AND STEELE.

THIS STORM SHOWS STRONG ROTATION AND MAY PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY
TIME. DO NOT WAIT. GO TO A SAFE PLACE NOW PUT AS MANY WALLS BETWEEN
YOU AND THE OUTSIDE AS POSSIBLE.

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

LAT...LON 3392 8636 3397 8629 3398 8618 3393 8618
          3384 8606 3381 8630 3377 8645 3377 8665
          3384 8674 3389 8675 3396 8647 3398 8635

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 18, 10:06 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Sumter	54 min
Nov 18, 10:18 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Pickens	57 min
Nov 18, 10:42 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Sumter	63 min
Nov 18, 10:48 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lamar	42 min
Nov 18, 10:59 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene	46 min
Nov 18, 11:13 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Pickens	32 min
Nov 18, 11:23 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Fayette	52 min
Nov 18, 11:53 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	52 min
Nov 18, 11:57 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Dallas	48 min
Nov 18, 11:58 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Fayette, Walker	47 min
Nov 18, 12:06 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marengo	39 min
Nov 18, 12:20 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Jefferson	40 min
Nov 18, 12:24 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chilton	51 min
Nov 18, 12:43 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Shelby	47 min
Nov 18, 12:55 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Jefferson	35 min
Nov 18, 1:11 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chilton	34 min
Nov 18, 1:18 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Perry	27 min
Nov 18, 3:13 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Autauga, Chilton	32 min

Nearby

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