Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 178, NWS Mobile, AL

May 17, 2003Washington County, Alabama; Greene County, Mississippi

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 2003, 9:53 PM CDT for Washington County, Alabama; Greene County, Mississippi. It was in force for 37 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
May 17, 2003, 9:53 PM CDT (02:53 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2003, 10:30 PM CDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Washington County, AL, Greene County, MS

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 70 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:54 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
May 17, 2:25 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 171 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 2003-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2667 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 2003-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 107 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2667 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1028 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
107 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
139 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
7.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KMOB 180253
SVRMOB
ALC129-MSC041-180330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
953 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA
  GREENE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI

* UNTIL 1030 PM CDT

* AT 953 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES WEST OF ESCATAWPA...MOVING EAST AT 20
  MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  FRUITDALE BY 1000 PM CDT
  ESCATAWPA BY 1005 PM CDT
  VINEGAR BEND...DEER PARK BY 1010 PM CDT
  TIBBIE BY 1025 PM CDT

STRONG DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...AND HEAVY RAIN ARE LIKELY WITH
THIS STORM.  IF IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER IN A STURDY
SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

LAT...LON 3136 8856 3118 8854 3119 8813 3141 8816

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 7:36 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningMOB24 min
May 17, 10:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBClarke35 min
May 18, 6:38 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBBaldwin, Mobile112 min
May 18, 8:25 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBBaldwin, Mobile2 hr
May 18, 10:25 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBBaldwin2 hr
May 18, 10:51 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBMobile84 min
May 18, 12:04 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningMOB3 hr
May 18, 12:28 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBBaldwin6 hr
May 18, 2:58 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningMOB2 hr
May 18, 4:58 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningMOB3 hr
May 17, 7:14 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBWayne46 min
May 17, 8:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBGreene, Wayne47 min
May 17, 8:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBPerry24 min
May 17, 9:26 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningMOBGreene, Wayne64 min
May 17, 11:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBGreene38 min
May 18, 4:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBGeorge23 min
May 18, 6:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBPerry34 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2003Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Mississippi, 2003Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.