Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 270, NWS Mobile, AL

November 18, 2003Mobile County, Washington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Nov 18, 2003, 12:18 PM CST for Mobile County, Washington County, Alabama. It was in force for 57 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, 12:18 PM CST (18:18 UTC)
Expired: Nov 18, 2003, 1:15 PM CST
In force: 57 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Mobile County, AL, Washington County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 43 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:19 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Nov 18, 11:25 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 165 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: 309 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 620 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 273 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 352 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 2.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KMOB 181818
SVRMOB
ALC097-129-181915-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1216 PM CST TUE NOV 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA
  MOBILE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 115 PM CST

* AT 1214 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING 
  WINDS IN   EXCESS OF 60 MPH. THESE STORMS WERE LOCATED ALONG A LINE 
  EXTENDING   FROM 11 MILES NORTHWEST OF VINEGAR BEND TO 25 MILES 
  SOUTHWEST OF GRAND BAY...OR ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 12 MILES 
  WEST OF CHATOM TO 11 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PASCAGOULA...AND MOVING 
  EAST AT 20 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  VINEGAR BEND AND DEER PARK BY 1235 PM CST
  CHATOM BY 1240 PM CST
  WILMER AND TIBBIE BY 1245 PM CST
  TANNER WILLIAMS AND BIG CREEK LAKE BY 1250 PM CST

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. IF A TORNADO
IS SPOTTED... ACT QUICKLY AND MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY IN A STURDY
STRUCTURE...SUCH AS A BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM.

THESE ARE DANGEROUS STORMS. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH...PREPARE FOR
DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.
TAKE COVER IN A STURDY SHELTER UNTIL THESE STORMS HAVE PASSED.

LAT...LON 3166 8840 3025 8836 3026 8814 3151 8799

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 18, 8:10 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Washington	35 min
Nov 18, 10:33 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		87 min
Nov 18, 11:07 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Choctaw	53 min
Nov 18, 12:27 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Nov 18, 12:27 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Nov 18, 2:08 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	37 min
Nov 18, 2:25 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Nov 18, 2:50 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	40 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2003 Every 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.