Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 22, NWS Huntsville, AL

October 18, 2004Colbert County, Lauderdale County, Alabama

NWS Huntsville, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 18, 2004, 3:35 PM CDT for Colbert County, Lauderdale County, Alabama. It was in force for 40 min. 10 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Oct 18, 2004, 3:35 PM CDT (20:35 UTC)
Expired: Oct 18, 2004, 4:15 PM CDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Huntsville, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Colbert County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 108 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:39 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Oct 18, 3:54 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	7 E Iuka, AL	IN TOWN OF BURNSVILLE LARGE TREES FELL ON 2 TO 3 HOMES.
Oct 18, 3:54 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	7 E Iuka, AL	IN TOWN OF BURNSVILLE LARGE TREES FELL ON 2 TO 3 HOMES.
Oct 18, 3:54 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	7 E Iuka, AL	IN TOWN OF BURNSVILLE LARGE TREES FELL ON 2 TO 3 HOMES.
Oct 18, 3:54 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	7 E Iuka, AL	IN TOWN OF BURNSVILLE LARGE TREES FELL ON 2 TO 3 HOMES.
Oct 18, 3:54 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	7 E Iuka, AL	IN TOWN OF BURNSVILLE LARGE TREES FELL ON 2 TO 3 HOMES.
Oct 18, 4:00 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	7 E Iuka, AL	WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE 3 MILES SOUTH OF BURNSVILLE. ROOF DAMAGE AND TREES DOWN.
Oct 18, 4:00 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	7 E Iuka, AL	WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE 3 MILES SOUTH OF BURNSVILLE. ROOF DAMAGE AND TREES DOWN.
Oct 18, 4:00 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	7 E Iuka, AL	WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE 3 MILES SOUTH OF BURNSVILLE. ROOF DAMAGE AND TREES DOWN.
Oct 18, 4:00 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	7 E Iuka, AL	WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE 3 MILES SOUTH OF BURNSVILLE. ROOF DAMAGE AND TREES DOWN.
Oct 18, 4:00 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	7 E Iuka, AL	WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE 3 MILES SOUTH OF BURNSVILLE. ROOF DAMAGE AND TREES DOWN.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Oct 18, 3:20 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 159 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: 1504 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 520 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 390 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 482 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 3.3
Supercell composite: 16.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KHUN 182035
TORHUN
ALC033-077-182115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
334 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  COLBERT COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA
  LAUDERDALE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA

* UNTIL 415 PM CDT

* AT 332 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 44 MILES WEST OF UNDERWOOD-PETERSVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 40
  MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...
  UNDERWOOD-PETERSVILLE.

THIS STORM SHOWS STRONG ROTATION...AND MAY PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY
TIME. DO NOT WAIT...GO TO A SAFE PLACE NOW PUT AS MANY WALLS AS
POSSIBLE BETWEEN YOU AND THE STORM.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT.

LAT...LON 3487 8855 3469 8849 3483 8768 3507 8776

$$

SCHAUB

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 18, 4:05 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Colbert, Lauderdale	40 min
Oct 18, 4:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Lauderdale	48 min
Oct 18, 5:28 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Lauderdale	47 min
Oct 18, 5:53 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Limestone	37 min
Oct 18, 6:10 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Lauderdale	35 min
Oct 18, 6:27 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Limestone	33 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.