Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Mobile, AL

March 13, 2003Washington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 13, 2003, 3:05 PM CST for Washington County, Alabama. It was in force for 25 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 13, 2003, 3:05 PM CST (21:05 UTC)
Expired: Mar 13, 2003, 3:30 PM CST
In force: 25 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Washington County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 68 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:09 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
Mar 13, 10:10 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 180 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: 797 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -157 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 711 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 209 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 247 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 7.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

381 
WFUS54 KMOB 132105
TORMOB
ALC129-132130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
305 PM CST THU MAR 13 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 330 PM CST

* AT 303 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO NEAR FRUITDALE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  ESCATAWPA BY 310 PM CST
  VINEGAR BEND...TIBBIE BY 315 PM CST
  DEER PARK BY 320 PM CST
  SEABOARD BY 325 PM CST

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...ABANDON VEHICLES AND TRAILER
HOMES AND SEEK A REINFORCED SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

LAT...LON 3147 8844 3124 8797 3116 8803 3116 8828
          3126 8843

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 12, 6:28 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Mar 12, 6:28 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Mar 12, 8:21 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		2 hr
Mar 13, 1:03 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		57 min
Mar 13, 1:30 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Mobile	30 min
Mar 13, 2:06 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	39 min
Mar 13, 2:10 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		65 min
Mar 13, 2:10 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		65 min
Mar 13, 2:35 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		55 min
Mar 13, 9:22 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Monroe	23 min
Mar 13, 9:26 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Monroe	19 min
Mar 13, 1:47 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke	28 min
Mar 13, 2:26 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke	34 min
Mar 13, 2:59 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke, Monroe	31 min
Mar 13, 3:10 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Butler, Crenshaw	50 min
Mar 13, 3:16 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke, Monroe	29 min
Mar 13, 3:27 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Washington	33 min
Mar 13, 3:30 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke, Monroe	30 min
Mar 13, 3:45 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Conecuh	45 min
Mar 13, 3:46 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	44 min
Mar 13, 4:00 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Butler, Crenshaw	45 min
Mar 13, 4:03 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		117 min
Mar 13, 4:03 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		117 min
Mar 13, 4:20 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	40 min
Mar 13, 4:21 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	54 min
Mar 13, 4:26 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Conecuh	34 min
Mar 13, 4:29 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	31 min
Mar 13, 4:38 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Escambia	22 min
Mar 13, 4:58 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	47 min
Mar 13, 5:11 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	64 min
Mar 13, 5:13 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Escambia	32 min
Mar 13, 5:33 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	42 min
Mar 13, 5:44 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	46 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.