Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 48, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 23, 2004Bibb County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 23, 2004, 3:40 PM CST for Bibb County, Alabama. It was in force for 35 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: Nov 23, 2004, 3:40 PM CST (21:40 UTC)
Expired: Nov 23, 2004, 4:15 PM CST
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Bibb County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 39 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:40 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 38 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 586 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 474 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 116 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 171 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBMX 232140
TORBMX
ALC007-232215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
339 PM CST TUE NOV 23 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BIBB COUNTY IN CENTRAL ALABAMA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BRENT

* UNTIL 415 PM CST

* AT 339 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 8 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF BRENT...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  BRENT BY 350 PM CST
  CENTREVILLE AND 7 MILES SOUTH OF WEST BLOCTON BY 355 PM CST

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 3311 8729 3293 8729 3293 8691 3321 8705

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 23, 1:39 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Randolph	36 min
Nov 23, 2:41 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chambers	34 min
Nov 23, 3:11 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Bibb, Tuscaloosa	34 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.