Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Huntsville, AL

March 19, 2003DeKalb County, Jackson County, Alabama

NWS Huntsville, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 19, 2003, 1:14 PM CST for DeKalb County, Jackson County, Alabama. It was in force for 31 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, 1:14 PM CST (19:14 UTC)
Expired
Mar 19, 2003, 1:45 PM CST
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Huntsville, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties DeKalb County, AL, Jackson County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:13 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, 11:30 AM CSTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 169 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 2003-03-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 246 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2003-03-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 530 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
246 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
573 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
69 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
530 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
779 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
3.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

676 
WFUS54 KHUN 191914
TORHUN
ALC049-071-191945-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 145 PM CST

* AT 1252 PM CST...THE JACKSON COUNTY EMA REPORTED A TORNADO OVER 
DUTTON...AT 109 PM RADAR SHOWS STRONG ROTATION FROM A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM
OVER PISGAH...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH. ANOTHER POSSIBLE TORNADO 
WAS JUST NORTHEAST OF BUCKS POCKET STATE PARK...WHILE A THIRD 
POSSIBLE TORNADO IS OVER THE ETOWAH COUNTY AND DEKALB COUNTY LINE OR 
10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF KILPATRICK.  

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...ROSALIE...IDER...SYLVANIA
...POWELL...DAWSON THROUGH 145 PM.  

MOTORISTS SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE. AS A LAST
RESORT...LIE FLAT IN A DITCH...OR DEPRESSION. COVER YOUR HEAD WITH
YOUR HANDS. HIGHWAY OVERPASSES ARE NOT SAFE

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 600 PM CST WEDNESDAY EVENING
FOR NORTHEAST ALABAMA.

LAT...LON 3420 8614 3422 8592 3485 8538 3502 8581
$$ 
JDG/JB

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, 11:24 AM CSTTornado WarningHUNJackson26 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, 1:41 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.