Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Birmingham, AL

September 16, 2004Pike County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Sep 16, 2004, 2:04 AM CDT for Pike County, Alabama. It was in force for 26 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 16, 2004, 2:04 AM CDT (07:04 UTC)
Expired
Sep 16, 2004, 2:30 AM CDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Pike County, AL

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Sep 16, 1:10 AM CDTTornado WatchSPC9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 178 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 2004-09-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 95 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 2004-09-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 192 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
95 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-97 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
648 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
192 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
251 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS54 KBMX 160704
TORBHM
ALC109-160730-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
203 AM CDT THU SEP 16 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  PIKE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST ALABAMA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF TROY

* UNTIL 230 AM CDT

* AT 200 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR
  BRUNDIDGE...OR ABOUT 11 MILES EAST OF TROY...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 50
  MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO
  BANKS.

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3168 8580 3184 8569 3192 8585 3184 8607

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 16, 1:22 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXPike28 min
Sep 16, 1:56 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXBarbour24 min
Sep 16, 2:45 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery30 min
Sep 16, 4:01 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXBarbour29 min
Sep 16, 4:34 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXRussell26 min
Sep 16, 4:49 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMacon26 min
Sep 16, 5:13 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXElmore47 min
Sep 16, 8:38 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXRussell37 min
Sep 16, 8:53 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLee37 min
Sep 16, 9:41 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLee34 min
Sep 16, 10:11 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXAutauga, Elmore, Lowndes, Montgomery4 hr
Sep 16, 10:22 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXRussell23 min
Sep 16, 10:43 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXBibb, Chilton, Dallas, Hale, Perry, Shelby4 hr
Sep 16, 10:54 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXRussell21 min
Sep 16, 10:57 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXBarbour, Bullock, Chambers, Coosa, Lee, Macon and 3 more4 hr
Sep 16, 11:40 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCalhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Jefferson, Randolph, St. Clair and 2 more4 hr
Sep 16, 11:58 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson5 hr
Sep 16, 12:51 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXBlount, Cherokee, Etowah, Walker, Winston4 hr
Sep 16, 2:50 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXChambers, Lee, Tallapoosa3 hr
Sep 16, 3:00 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson6 hr
Sep 16, 3:01 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCalhoun, Clay, Cleburne, Jefferson, Randolph, St. Clair and 2 more5 hr
Sep 16, 4:57 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXBlount, Cherokee, Etowah3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes in 2004

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.