Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 106, NWS Huntsville, AL

August 20, 2004Colbert County, Franklin County, Alabama

NWS Huntsville, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 20, 2004, 1:56 PM CDT for Colbert County, Franklin County, Alabama. It was in force for 49 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 20, 2004, 1:56 PM CDT (18:56 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 2004, 2:45 PM CDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Huntsville, AL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Colbert County, AL, Franklin County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 88 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:53 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 20, 1:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 182 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 12:00Z on 2004-08-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 591 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 12:00Z on 2004-08-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 15 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
591 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-67 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
915 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 20, 10:48 AM CDT, 3 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 10:48 AM CDT, 3 hours 8 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 20, 12:47 PM CDT, 1 hour 9 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
1247 PM CDT FRI AUG 20 2004

ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-210230-
COLBERT-CULLMAN-DE KALB-FRANKLIN AL-FRANKLIN TN-JACKSON-LAUDERDALE-
LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-LINCOLN-MADISON-MARSHALL-MOORE-MORGAN-
1247 PM CDT FRI AUG 20 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH ALABAMA AND PARTS OF
SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE.

.DAY ONE...(TODAY AND TONIGHT)...

ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF DAMAGING WINDS ARE POSSIBLE
THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL RAPIDLY DEVELOP AND BECOME MORE
WIDESPREAD...FOLLOWED BY A MORE SOLID BAND OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS SPREADING SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST ACROSS
NORTH ALABAMA INTO SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE.  THIS BAND WILL MOVE
ACROSS THE AREA FROM 2 PM TO 6 PM.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...(SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)...

THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

THE THREAT OF RAIN WILL CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY AS THE FRONT IS
EXPECTED TO STALL OUT ACROSS NORTH ALABAMA. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO
DISSIPATE BY MONDAY...WITH DRY WEATHER EXPECTED TO RETURN FOR
THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL
IS POSSIBLE.

KULA

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 20, 1:36 PM CDT, 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
136 PM CDT FRI AUG 20 2004

ALZ001>003-201930-
COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAUDERDALE-
136 PM CDT FRI AUG 20 2004

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS
NORTHWEST ALABAMA...

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHWEST ALABAMA THIS
AFTERNOON. STRONG WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH...PEA SIZE HAIL AND
SIGNIFICANT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE
STORMS THROUGH 230 PM. LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS
FROM ONE TO TWO INCHES IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WILL ALSO BE
POSSIBLE.

PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD TAKE SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.
MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR PONDING OF WATER ON AREA ROADWAYS.

MR

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 2:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNColbert, Lauderdale42 min
Aug 20, 3:08 PM CDTTornado WarningHUNJackson37 min
Aug 20, 3:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNMadison32 min
Aug 20, 3:28 PM CDTTornado WarningHUNJackson32 min
Aug 20, 4:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNJackson42 min
Aug 20, 4:14 PM CDTTornado WarningHUNJackson31 min
Aug 20, 4:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNDeKalb, Jackson45 min
Aug 20, 3:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNLincoln, Moore27 min
Aug 20, 3:36 PM CDTTornado WarningHUNMoore44 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2004Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.