Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 193, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 18, 2003Chilton County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 18, 2003, 1:11 PM CST for Chilton County, Alabama. It was in force for 34 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, 1:11 PM CST (19:11 UTC)
Expired
Nov 18, 2003, 1:45 PM CST
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Chilton County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 23 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:14 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Nov 18, 11:25 AM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 24 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 2003-11-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2003-11-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 319 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
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 181911
TORBHM
ALC021-181945-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CHILTON COUNTY IN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 145 PM CST

* AT 111 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO OVER THORSBY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...JEMISON AND
THORSBY.

A LARGE FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED NEAR MAPLESVILLE AND SEVERAL TREES 
AND POWER HAVE BEEN BLOWN DOWN AROUND MAPLESVILLE. 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 3295 8684 3284 8668 3302 8653 3309 8667

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 18, 10:06 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter54 min
Nov 18, 10:18 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens57 min
Nov 18, 10:42 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXSumter63 min
Nov 18, 10:48 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar42 min
Nov 18, 10:59 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene46 min
Nov 18, 11:13 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens32 min
Nov 18, 11:23 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette52 min
Nov 18, 11:53 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa52 min
Nov 18, 11:57 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXDallas48 min
Nov 18, 11:58 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette, Walker47 min
Nov 18, 12:06 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo39 min
Nov 18, 12:20 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson40 min
Nov 18, 12:24 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXChilton51 min
Nov 18, 12:43 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby47 min
Nov 18, 12:55 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson35 min
Nov 18, 1:03 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXBlount, St. Clair, Shelby42 min
Nov 18, 1:18 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXPerry27 min
Nov 18, 3:13 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Chilton32 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.