Alert archive / Alabama / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 279

March 18, 200319 counties in Alabama; 8 counties in Florida; Clarke County, Lauderdale County, Wayne County, Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 18, 2003, 6:39 PM CST for 19 counties in Alabama; 8 counties in Florida; Clarke County, Lauderdale County, Wayne County, Mississippi. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 18, 2003, 6:39 PM CST (00:39 UTC)
Expired
Mar 18, 2003, 9:15 PM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 30 counties

Butler County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Houston County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Pike County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Clarke County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Wayne 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, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 223 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 2003-03-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 25 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 2003-03-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 37 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
25 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-191 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
886 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
107 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
Mar 18, 7:30 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBaldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington and 5 more6 hr
Mar 18, 9:10 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Baldwin, Bibb, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh and 14 more3 hr
Mar 18, 10:25 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBaldwin, Bibb, Choctaw, Clarke, Colbert, Cullman and 24 more7 hr
Mar 18, 11:50 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBibb, Choctaw, Clarke, Colbert, Cullman, Fayette and 18 more115 min
Mar 19, 2:02 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBibb, Choctaw, Clarke, Colbert, Cullman, Dallas and 22 more118 min
Mar 19, 7:10 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCMadison2 hr
Mar 19, 8:00 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCDeKalb, Jackson, Madison, Marshall, Morgan4 hr
Mar 19, 9:28 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlount, DeKalb, Jackson, Madison, Marshall2 hr
Mar 19, 11:30 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCDeKalb, Jackson, Marshall7 hr
Mar 19, 11:58 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Marshall2 hr
Mar 19, 12:59 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Bullock, Dale, Henry, Houston, Lee and 4 more3 hr
Mar 19, 1:30 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers and 15 more6 hr
Mar 19, 2:06 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCalhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Marshall and 1 more114 min
Mar 19, 3:35 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Chambers, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell and 1 more115 min
Mar 19, 3:52 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCalhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah113 min
Mar 18, 11:53 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHamilton, Jefferson, Leon, Madison, Taylor3 hr
Mar 19, 2:08 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrevard, Broward, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee and 17 more3 hr
Mar 19, 5:32 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Bradford, Brevard, Clay, Duval, Flagler and 10 more118 min
Mar 18, 6:08 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Hinds and 13 more2 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Alabama, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Florida, 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.