Alert archive / Alabama / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 116

February 21, 200328 counties in Alabama; 22 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Feb 21, 2003, 9:03 PM CST for 28 counties in Alabama; 22 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 21, 2003, 9:03 PM CST (03:03 UTC)
Expired
Feb 22, 2003, 12:00 AM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 50 counties

Autauga County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Blount County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Cullman County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Marion County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Winston County, AL, Attala County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Choctaw County, MS, Clarke County, MS, Clay County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Kemper County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Leake County, MS, Lee County, MS, Lowndes County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Neshoba County, MS, Newton County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Rankin County, MS, Scott County, MS, Simpson County, MS, Smith County, MS, Webster County, MS, Winston County, MS

The watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 3.1 hours before the alert went out and 125 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 00:00Z on 2003-02-22Temperature 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°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2003-02-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 151 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
779 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
186 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.

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SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 21, 7:26 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Clarke, Mobile, Washington2 hr
Feb 21, 8:15 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBaldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw and 4 more6 hr
Feb 21, 9:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAutauga, Bibb, Calhoun, Chilton, Choctaw, Clay and 20 more7 hr
Feb 21, 10:22 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw and 4 more113 min
Feb 21, 10:40 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Bibb, Calhoun, Chilton, Choctaw, Clay and 20 more2 hr
Feb 21, 11:14 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Cullman, DeKalb and 16 more4 hr
Feb 21, 11:40 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBarbour, Bullock, Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry and 5 more6 hr
Feb 22, 12:35 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAutauga, Baldwin, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun and 37 more5 hr
Feb 22, 2:47 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCalhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson and 4 more3 hr
Feb 22, 3:35 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCBlount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay and 12 more2 hr
Feb 22, 3:51 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler and 43 more114 min
Feb 22, 5:19 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Henry, Houston, Russell56 min
Feb 22, 5:50 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCHenry, Houston5 hr
Feb 22, 9:14 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDeKalb, Jackson, Marshall2 hr
Feb 22, 10:35 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCDeKalb, Jackson5 hr
Feb 22, 2:02 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Attala, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw and 34 more3 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Alabama, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Mississippi, 2003Every mesoscale discussion 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.