Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Huntsville, AL

March 19, 2003Jackson County, Alabama

NWS Huntsville, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 19, 2003, 11:24 AM CST for Jackson County, Alabama. It was in force for 26 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 19, 2003, 11:24 AM CST (17:24 UTC)
Expired
Mar 19, 2003, 11:50 AM CST
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Huntsville, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Jackson County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 15 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:23 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
Mar 19, 8:00 AM CSTTornado WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 156 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2003-03-19Temperature 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°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2003-03-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 70 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
649 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
70 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
231 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.

824 
WFUS54 KHUN 191724
TORHUN
ALC071-191750-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
1119 AM CST WED MAR 19 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  JACKSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 1150 AM CST

* AT 1113 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
3 STORMS WITH ROTATION THAT COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO.  THE STRONGEST 
IS 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF PAINT ROCK.  ANOTHER STORM WITH ROTATION IS 
MOVING OUT OF MARSHALL COUNTY NEAR GRANT...AND WILL BE MOVING INTO 
WOODVILLE.  A THIRD STORM COULD CLIP FRANCISCO.  ALL OF JACKSON 
COUNTY IS UNDER A STRONG THREAT OF HAVING A TORNADO AS ALL THE 
STORMS MOVE NORTH NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.  

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE TORNADO PRODUCING STORMS 
INCLUDE...PAINT ROCK...WOODVILLE...TRENTON AND SKYLINE. 

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 A LAST RESORT...LIE FLAT IN A DITCH...OR 
DEPRESSION. 

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST WEDNESDAY FOR
NORTHEASTERN ALABAMA.

LAT...LON 3457 8593 3464 8635 3489 8633 3494 8624
          3499 8630 3496 8577 3477 8583

$$ 
JDG/JB/AB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 19, 8:20 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNLimestone, Madison25 min
Mar 19, 8:40 AM CSTTornado WarningHUNMadison20 min
Mar 19, 8:50 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNCullman25 min
Mar 19, 8:58 AM CSTTornado WarningHUNMadison22 min
Mar 19, 9:03 AM CSTTornado WarningHUNDeKalb27 min
Mar 19, 9:15 AM CSTTornado WarningHUNMarshall45 min
Mar 19, 9:22 AM CSTTornado WarningHUNMadison38 min
Mar 19, 9:54 AM CSTTornado WarningHUNJackson36 min
Mar 19, 10:01 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNMadison29 min
Mar 19, 10:38 AM CSTTornado WarningHUNMadison22 min
Mar 19, 10:53 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNJackson37 min
Mar 19, 10:59 AM CSTTornado WarningHUNMarshall31 min
Mar 19, 11:08 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNMadison22 min
Mar 19, 11:32 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNMarshall43 min
Mar 19, 11:57 AM CSTTornado WarningHUNDeKalb, Marshall43 min
Mar 19, 12:37 PM CSTTornado WarningHUNDeKalb, Jackson38 min
Mar 19, 1:14 PM CSTTornado WarningHUNDeKalb, Jackson31 min
Mar 19, 1:41 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningHUNDeKalb, Jackson6 hr
Mar 19, 1:48 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNDeKalb, Jackson27 min
Mar 19, 2:00 PM CSTTornado WarningHUNDeKalb30 min
Mar 19, 2:28 PM CSTTornado WarningHUNDeKalb32 min
Mar 19, 3:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNDeKalb19 min
Mar 19, 3:29 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNDeKalb31 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.