Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 30, NWS Huntsville, AL

October 18, 2004Colbert County, Franklin County, Alabama

NWS Huntsville, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 18, 2004, 10:15 PM CDT for Colbert County, Franklin County, Alabama. It was in force for 45 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
Oct 18, 2004, 10:15 PM CDT (03:15 UTC)
Expired
Oct 18, 2004, 11:00 PM CDT
In force
45 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), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:15 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
Oct 18, 7:10 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 184 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2004-10-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3284 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2004-10-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 151 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
3284 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1041 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
289 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
4.1
Supercell composite
18.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KHUN 190315
TORHUN
ALC033-059-190400-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
1015 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 1100 PM CDT

* AT 1015 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 25 MILES WEST OF LITTLEVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...
  LITTLEVILLE.

THIS TORNADO WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING WHICH
WAS IN EFFECT FOR THE SAME AREA.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADIC
STORM...MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR STORM SHELTER...OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES FOR MORE
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM CDT.

LAT...LON 3466 8824 3448 8821 3452 8752 3476 8755

$$

SCHAUB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 18, 9:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNColbert, Franklin50 min
Oct 18, 10:58 PM CDTTornado WarningHUNColbert47 min
Oct 18, 11:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNColbert25 min
Oct 18, 11:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNLawrence46 min
Oct 19, 2:43 AM CDTTornado WarningHUNLauderdale47 min
Oct 19, 3:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNLimestone41 min
Oct 19, 3:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNLauderdale17 min
Oct 19, 4:41 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNColbert, Lauderdale49 min
Oct 19, 4:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNMadison47 min
Oct 19, 5:16 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHUNColbert, Lauderdale2 hr
Oct 19, 6:05 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHUNMadison3 hr
Oct 19, 6:20 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHUNJackson3 hr
Oct 19, 6:39 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHUNLawrence3 hr
Oct 19, 7:10 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHUNFranklin2 hr
Oct 19, 11:24 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningHUNColbert, Lauderdale6 hr
Oct 19, 1:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNColbert21 min
Oct 19, 1:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNFranklin47 min
Oct 19, 1:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNColbert44 min
Oct 19, 1:39 PM CDTTornado WarningHUNColbert36 min
Oct 19, 2:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNLawrence25 min
Oct 19, 2:37 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningHUNMadison, Marshall, Morgan113 min
Oct 19, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNLauderdale34 min
Oct 19, 6:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHUNColbert, Lauderdale50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2004Every tornado warning in 2004Tornadoes 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.