Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 394

May 16, 200330 counties in Alabama; Dade County, Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 16, 2003, 1:30 PM CDT for 30 counties in Alabama; Dade County, Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 16, 2003, 1:30 PM CDT (18:30 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 2003, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 31 counties

Bibb County, AL, Blount County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Cherokee County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Colbert County, AL, Cullman County, AL, DeKalb County, AL, Etowah County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Jackson County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL, Marion County, AL, Marshall County, AL, Morgan County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL, Dade County, GA

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:30 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.

Warnings issued inside it

21 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 1:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker, Winston55 min
May 16, 1:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion30 min
May 16, 2:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Marion60 min
May 16, 2:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker59 min
May 16, 2:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah21 min
May 16, 2:54 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXWalker51 min
May 16, 2:55 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHUNLawrence3 hr
May 16, 3:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette58 min
May 16, 3:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker59 min
May 16, 3:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson65 min
May 16, 4:49 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHUNCullman3 hr
May 16, 4:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair54 min
May 16, 4:59 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson4 hr
May 16, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson30 min
May 16, 5:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega51 min
May 16, 5:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby37 min
May 16, 5:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega9 min
May 16, 5:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby33 min
May 16, 5:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega46 min
May 16, 6:02 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXTalladega3 hr
May 16, 6:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay25 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 117 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 12:00Z on 2003-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 911 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 12:00Z on 2003-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 33 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
911 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
639 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
33 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
136 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 9:39 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Lauderdale96 min
May 16, 1:14 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert and 22 more2 hr
May 16, 3:39 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne and 22 more96 min
May 16, 6:18 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChambers, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Randolph, Shelby and 2 more57 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Alabama, 2003Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Georgia, 2003Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.