Alert archive / Alabama / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003
Mesoscale Discussion 690
The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at May 2, 2003, 4:57 PM CDT for 31 counties in Alabama; Clay County, Georgia. It was in force for 93 min.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 2, 2003, 4:57 PM CDT (21:57 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 2003, 6:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 93 min
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 32 counties
Autauga County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Butler County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Henry County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Clay County, GA
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 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 98 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 134 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -350 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1399 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 42 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 248 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
790 ACUS11 KWNS 022158 SWOMCD SPC MCD 022157 GAZ000-ALZ000-MSZ000-022330- MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0690 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0457 PM CDT FRI MAY 02 2003 AREAS AFFECTED...CNTRL/SRN AL INTO THE FL PNHDL CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 211... VALID 022157Z - 022330Z NEW WW MAY BE REQUIRED SHORTLY FOR CNTRL/SRN AL SWD INTO THE FL PNHDL. THIS WOULD REPLACE WW0211 CURRENTLY IN EFFECT UNTIL 00Z. REGIONAL RADAR DATA SHOW SEVERAL STRONG TSTMS...INCLUDING SUPERCELLS...FROM W OF BHM SWD TO NE OF MOB. ALTHOUGH DEEP-LAYER SHEAR REMAINS MARGINALLY FAVORABLE FOR ORGANIZED TSTMS...MLCAPES OF OF 2000-3000 J/KG AND FORCING FOR LARGE-SCALE ASCENT ASSOCIATED WITH SHORTWAVE TROUGH CURRENTLY OVER WRN AL WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT PRIMARILY A LARGE HAIL THREAT ACROSS THE AREA FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY WITH THE SUPERCELL OVER BALDWIN COUNTY AL. ..MEAD.. 05/02/2003 ...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT... ATTN...WFO...FFC...TAE...BMX...MOB...JAN... 33288855 32688858 32318857 31948863 31638865 31508862 31488812 31398707 31378537 31308509 31278497 31458498 32418505 32798498 33088505 33218505 33158517 33188577 33278772
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 1:43 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blount, Colbert, Cullman, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin and 14 more | 92 min |
| May 2, 1:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert and 23 more | 5 hr |
| May 2, 3:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Chambers and 26 more | 4 hr |
| May 2, 5:05 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler and 37 more | 5 hr |
| May 2, 5:36 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert and 23 more | 84 min |
| May 2, 1:23 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Rabun | 2 hr |
| May 2, 1:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Banks, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Rabun and 1 more | 5 hr |
| May 2, 3:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Columbia, Glascock, McDuffie, Richmond | 5 hr |
| May 2, 4:43 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Barrow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Chattahoochee and 36 more | 92 min |
| May 2, 5:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts and 58 more | 6 hr |
| May 2, 6:17 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Columbia, Glascock, Richmond | 88 min |
Nearby
Mesoscale Discussions in Alabama, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Georgia, 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.