Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 68, NWS Birmingham, AL

December 9, 2004Pickens County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Dec 9, 2004, 5:57 AM CST for Pickens County, Alabama. It was in force for 33 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 9, 2004, 5:57 AM CST (11:57 UTC)
Expired: Dec 9, 2004, 6:30 AM CST
In force: 33 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Pickens County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:00 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 9, 4:45 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 12.0 hours before the alert went out and 128 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1707 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 33 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 68 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KBMX 091157
TORBMX
ALC107-091230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
557 AM CST THU DEC 9 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  PICKENS COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF ALICEVILLE

* UNTIL 630 AM CST

* AT 555 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
A   SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO 11 MILES  
SOUTHWEST OF COCHRANE...OR ABOUT 18 MILES SOUTHWEST OF   
ALICEVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO
  REFORM AND CARROLLTON.

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 3342 8828 3301 8829 3320 8785 3353 8805

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 9, 6:08 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene	37 min
Dec 9, 6:13 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Pickens	2 hr
Dec 9, 6:28 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Pickens	32 min
Dec 9, 6:35 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	40 min
Dec 9, 7:37 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Jefferson, Shelby	113 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.