Alert archive / Alabama / Mesoscale Discussions in 2005

Mesoscale Discussion 420

March 27, 200529 counties in Alabama

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 27, 2005, 2:24 PM CST for 29 counties in Alabama. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 27, 2005, 2:24 PM CST (20:24 UTC)
Expired
Mar 27, 2005, 4:30 PM CST
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 29 counties

Autauga County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Blount County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Cullman County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Morgan County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:25 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 watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.4 hours before the alert went out and 38 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 2005-03-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 257 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 2005-03-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 226 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
257 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-180 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
589 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
226 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
263 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

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SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 26, 6:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton and 23 more3 hr
Mar 26, 8:45 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAutauga, Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler and 44 more7 hr
Mar 26, 9:00 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBarbour, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee and 1 more7 hr
Mar 26, 10:43 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Chilton and 24 more62 min
Mar 27, 1:14 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock and 50 more91 min
Mar 27, 2:27 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Conecuh and 13 more63 min
Mar 27, 3:27 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChoctaw, Clarke, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Marengo and 5 more33 min
Mar 27, 3:45 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCBarbour, Bullock, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale and 6 more6 hr
Mar 27, 6:53 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry and 1 more2 hr
Mar 27, 9:08 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCovington, Geneva, Houston37 min
Mar 27, 9:35 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCBarbour, Bullock, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale and 5 more7 hr
Mar 27, 11:06 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Bibb, Blount, Butler, Calhoun, Cherokee and 33 more54 min
Mar 27, 11:40 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAutauga, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee and 25 more5 hr
Mar 27, 4:55 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBarbour, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee and 22 more7 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Alabama, 2005Every mesoscale discussion in 2005

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.