Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 857
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 18, 2004, 3:20 PM CDT for 8 counties in Alabama; Franklin County, Giles County, Lincoln County, Tennessee. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 18, 2004, 3:20 PM CDT (20:20 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 18, 2004, 8:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Colbert County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Jackson County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL, Morgan County, AL, Franklin County, TN, Giles County, TN, Lincoln County, TN
The radar
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:23 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.
Warnings issued inside it
11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 3:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HUN | Colbert, Lauderdale | 40 min |
| 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, 6:03 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Giles, Lawrence | 27 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 |
| Oct 18, 6:31 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Giles | 29 min |
| Oct 18, 6:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Lincoln, Moore | 48 min |
| Oct 18, 7:27 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HUN | Lincoln | 48 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 150 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 920 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 198 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 142 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 182026
SEL7
SPC WW 182020
ALZ000-TNZ000-190100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 857
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
320 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHERN ALABAMA
SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 320 PM UNTIL 800
PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 30 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES WEST OF MUSCLE SHOALS ALABAMA TO 55
MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF HUNTSVILLE ALABAMA.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 856...
DISCUSSION...INTENSE SUPERCELL NERN MS WILL MOVE EWD ALONG/TN/AL
BORDER WHERE SHEAR PROFILES REMAIN VERY SUPPORTIVE FOR ROTATION. AIR
MASS CONTINUES TO DESTABILIZE EWD INTO NRN AL THUS SUPERCELL
EXPECTED TO MAINTAIN INTENSITY WITH POSSIBLE TORNADOES THRU
REMAINDER OF AFTN.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035.
...HALES
351,0880 352,0855 343,0855 341,0880SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 6:02 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and 2 more | 88 min |
| Oct 17, 11:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Lake, Obion | 6 hr |
| Oct 18, 2:19 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dyer, Lake, Obion | 56 min |
| Oct 18, 4:40 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Lake, Obion | 35 min |
| Oct 18, 7:44 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson and 10 more | 61 min |
| Oct 18, 9:45 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Fayette, Hardeman, McNairy, Shelby | 5 hr |
| Oct 18, 11:29 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fayette, Hardeman, McNairy, Shelby | 91 min |
| Oct 18, 1:55 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Stewart | 95 min |
| Oct 18, 2:18 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fayette, Hardeman, McNairy, Shelby | 57 min |
| Oct 18, 4:05 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson and 12 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2004Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2004Every tornado watch 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.