Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 66, NWS Birmingham, AL

December 7, 2004Lamar County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Dec 7, 2004, 4:02 AM CST for Lamar County, Alabama. It was in force for 28 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: Dec 7, 2004, 4:02 AM CST (10:02 UTC)
Expired: Dec 7, 2004, 4:30 AM CST
In force: 28 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lamar County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 34 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:01 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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Dec 7, 3:25 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 136 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: 415 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 485 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 109 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 447 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBMX 071002
TORBMX
ALC075-071030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
402 AM CST TUE DEC 7 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN LAMAR COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 430 AM CST

* AT 356 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 14 MILES WEST OF
  MILLPORT...OR ABOUT NEAR COLUMBUS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

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

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.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 AM CST TUESDAY MORNING
FOR NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA.

LAT...LON 3356 8827 3367 8826 3368 8825 3380 8796
      3380 8796 3358 8795 3354 8807 3355 8828

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 7, 3:32 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lamar, Marion	43 min
Dec 7, 3:53 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lamar, Pickens	52 min
Dec 7, 4:16 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Sumter	44 min
Dec 7, 4:27 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar	33 min
Dec 7, 4:35 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Winston	40 min
Dec 7, 4:41 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	49 min
Dec 7, 4:47 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Pickens	28 min
Dec 7, 5:02 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Sumter	28 min
Dec 7, 5:16 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Walker, Winston	29 min
Dec 7, 5:30 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	45 min
Dec 7, 5:50 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marengo	55 min
Dec 7, 7:11 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson	19 min
Dec 7, 7:14 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	St. Clair	46 min
Dec 7, 7:36 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Etowah	39 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.