Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 105
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 6, 2003, 1:35 PM CDT for 14 counties in Alabama; 13 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 6, 2003, 1:35 PM CDT (18:35 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 6, 2003, 7:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 27 counties
Bibb County, AL, Butler County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Choctaw County, MS, Clarke County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jones County, MS, Kemper County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Lowndes County, MS, Neshoba County, MS, Newton County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Wayne County, MS, Winston County, MS
Warnings issued inside it
16 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 6, 2:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Newton | 43 min |
| Apr 6, 2:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Kemper, Neshoba | 60 min |
| Apr 6, 2:54 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Lauderdale, Newton | 81 min |
| Apr 6, 3:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Greene, Pickens, Sumter | 67 min |
| Apr 6, 3:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Sumter | 39 min |
| Apr 6, 3:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Noxubee | 44 min |
| Apr 6, 3:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Newton | 44 min |
| Apr 6, 4:13 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Greene, Sumter | 47 min |
| Apr 6, 4:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Lauderdale | 46 min |
| Apr 6, 4:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Lauderdale | 44 min |
| Apr 6, 4:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Lauderdale | 43 min |
| Apr 6, 4:52 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Hale | 53 min |
| Apr 6, 4:54 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Sumter | 66 min |
| Apr 6, 4:58 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Greene | 22 min |
| Apr 6, 6:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Hale | 9 min |
| Apr 6, 6:11 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 49 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, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 145 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
- 43 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -292 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 938 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 220 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 283 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 3.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 061831 SEL5 SPC WW 061835 ALZ000-MSZ000-070000- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 105 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 135 PM CDT SUN APR 6 2003 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN ALABAMA EASTERN MISSISSIPPI EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 135 PM UNTIL 700 PM CDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF MERIDIAN MISSISSIPPI TO 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF SELMA ALABAMA. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 100...WW 101...WW 102...WW 103...WW 104... DISCUSSION...BOW ECHO AND CLUSTER OF SUPERCELLS NEAR JAN WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK EASTWARD INTO WESTERN AL DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS. OTHER STORMS MAY DEVELOP FARTHER EAST ALONG SURFACE BAROCLINIC ZONE OVER CENTRAL AL. SUFFICIENT VERTICAL SHEAR AND INSTABILITY SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS WITH LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035. ...HART 332,0891 333,0864 313,0864 313,0891
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 6, 9:19 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Limestone, Madison | 116 min |
| Apr 6, 12:40 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter and 1 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 6, 1:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Lauderdale | 6 hr |
| Apr 6, 2:56 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Chilton, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Perry and 4 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 6, 6:23 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Choctaw, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin and 14 more | 97 min |
| Apr 6, 6:50 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Autauga, Bibb, Chilton, Choctaw, Cullman, Dallas and 12 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 6, 7:38 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Hinds, Issaquena and 5 more | 97 min |
| Apr 6, 7:50 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bolivar, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore and 5 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 6, 10:00 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Attala, Bolivar, Carroll, Coahoma, Grenada, Hinds and 12 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 6, 10:20 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Attala, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw and 36 more | 55 min |
| Apr 6, 10:30 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adams, Attala, Carroll, Claiborne, Copiah, Covington and 23 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 6, 11:05 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alcorn, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Coahoma and 15 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 6, 12:03 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Claiborne, Issaquena, Warren | 117 min |
| Apr 6, 12:27 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Coahoma, DeSoto, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola and 8 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 6, 3:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adams, Amite, Attala, Carroll, Claiborne, Copiah and 23 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 6, 5:35 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Amite, Attala, Carroll, Claiborne, Copiah and 25 more | 115 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2003Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2003Every tornado 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.