Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 14, 2003Clay County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 14, 2003, 6:19 PM CST for Clay County, Alabama. It was in force for 41 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: Mar 14, 2003, 6:19 PM CST (00:19 UTC)
Expired: Mar 14, 2003, 7:00 PM CST
In force: 41 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Clay County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:22 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, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 83 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: 385 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1204 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 97 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.

699 
WFUS54 KBMX 150019
TORBHM
ALC027-150100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
619 PM CST FRI MAR 14 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CLAY COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 700 PM CST

* AT 617 PM CST...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO 14 MILES SOUTH OF
  ASHLAND...MOVING NORTH AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...ASHLAND AND
LINEVILLE.

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 3331 8597 3338 8598 3339 8568 3312 8572
          3312 8596 3330 8598

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 14, 6:09 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Tallapoosa	36 min
Mar 14, 6:12 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lee	63 min
Mar 14, 6:14 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Russell	61 min
Mar 14, 6:37 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marengo	38 min
Mar 14, 6:51 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Sumter	24 min
Mar 14, 6:59 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Clay	31 min
Mar 14, 7:19 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Sumter	26 min
Mar 14, 7:34 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene	41 min
Mar 14, 8:37 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Barbour	53 min
Mar 14, 8:38 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Autauga	22 min
Mar 14, 9:34 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Macon	56 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.