Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2006

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Huntsville, AL

April 7, 2006Limestone County, Alabama

NWS Huntsville, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 7, 2006, 7:28 PM CDT for Limestone County, Alabama. It was in force for 17 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: Apr 7, 2006, 7:28 PM CDT (00:28 UTC)
Expired: Apr 7, 2006, 7:45 PM CDT
In force: 17 min
Issued by: NWS Huntsville, AL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Limestone County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 76 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:31 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 7, 11:34 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr
Apr 7, 7:28 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 141 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: 310 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -177 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1354 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 65 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 219 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 272 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KHUN 080028
TORHUN
ALC083-080045-
/O.NEW.KHUN.TO.W.0016.060408T0028Z-060408T0045Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
728 PM CDT FRI APR 7 2006

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN LIMESTONE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 745 PM CDT

* AT 725 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD   
  SOUTHEAST OF ELKMONT...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. AT 720               
  PM...LIMESTONE EMA REPORTED DEBRIS NEAR INTERSTATE 65 AND HIGHWAY  
  72 IN ATHENS.

* LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...
  HOLLAND GIN.
  BETHEL.

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.

LAT...LON 3491 8702 3480 8694 3481 8678 3499 8680

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS54 KHUN 080044
SVSHUN

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
742 PM CDT FRI APR 7 2006

ALC083-080052-
/O.EXP.KHUN.TO.W.0016.000000T0000Z-060408T0045Z/
LIMESTONE AL-
742 PM CDT FRI APR 7 2006

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR LIMESTONE COUNTY HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO
EXPIRE...

AT 742 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT
THE THUNDERSTORM THAT PROMPTED THE TORNADO WARNING HAD EXITED 
LIMESTONE COUNTY AND MOVED INTO SOUTHERN LINCOLN COUNTY. 
THEREFORE...THE TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

LIMESTONE EMA REPORTED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO HOMES...CARS 
OVERTURNED...AND WIDESPREAD TREE DAMAGE IN PARTS OF THE COUNTY 
EARLIER WITH THIS STORM.

HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING ARE
STILL POSSIBLE FROM THIS THUNDERSTORM. STAY INDOORS UNTIL THE STORM
HAS PASSED.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT.

LAT...LON 3491 8702 3480 8694 3481 8678 3499 8680

$$

CBD

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Apr 7, 7:15 PM CDT, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 7, 7:15 PM CDT, 13 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
715 PM CDT FRI APR 7 2006

.RADAR UPDATE...

...LIMESTONE CO TORNADO POTENTIAL INCREASING...

CELL IN LIMESTONE COUNTY IS SHOWING IMPRESSIVE HOOK ECHO NOW ON
KHTX...UAH...AND LOCAL MEDIA RADARS NEAR ELKMONT.  SPOTTER REPORTS A
ROTATING WALL CLOUD NEAR ELKMONT. AREAS E AND NE INCLUDING NORTHERN
MADISON COUNTY AND LINCOLN COUNTY TN MAY REQUIRE TORNADO WARNING
EXTENSION.
&&

KULA

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 7, 2:20 PM CDT, 5 hours 8 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
220 PM CDT FRI APR 7 2006

ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-080100-
LAUDERDALE-COLBERT-FRANKLIN AL-LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-MADISON-MORGAN-
MARSHALL-JACKSON-DE KALB-CULLMAN-MOORE-LINCOLN-FRANKLIN TN-
220 PM CDT FRI APR 7 2006

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

TORNADO WATCHES ARE IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT FOR ALL OF NORTHERN
ALABAMA AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE...EXCEPT DEKALB...JACKSON AND
MARSHALL COUNTIES.

THE ATMOSPHERE SO FAR THIS AFTERNOON HAS BEEN CAPPED...PREVENTING
THUNDERSTORMS FROM FORMING. CURRENT TRENDS INDICATE THAT THE CAP IS
BEGINNING TO ERODE...AND WILL ALLOW THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT TO
BEGIN LATER THIS AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP
ACROSS NORTHWEST ALABAMA BETWEEN 3 AND 4 PM...SPREADING EASTWARD
INTO THE I-65 CORRIDOR AND HUNTSVILLE/DECATUR METRO AREA BETWEEN 4
AND 6 PM. STORMS MAY NOT REACH PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST ALABAMA UNTIL
AFTER 6 PM.

THE GREATEST THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER IS STILL EXPECTED BETWEEN 3 PM
AND MIDNIGHT. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL BECOME SUPERCELLS...CAPABLE
OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND POSSIBLY STRONG
TORNADOES.

OVERNIGHT AND THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING...THESE SUPERCELL STORMS WILL
EVENTUALLY CONSOLIDATE INTO A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
THIS LINE WILL MAINTAIN THE THREAT OF DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LARGE
HAIL. HOWEVER...CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SAME
AREAS WILL BRING A THREAT OF SIGNIFICANT HEAVY RAINFALL AND POSSIBLE
FLASH FLOODING ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY.

THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION. STAY TUNED FOR
FURTHER OUTLOOKS AND FORECASTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
IN HUNTSVILLE REGARDING THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER THROUGH
TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...

THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

AN AREA OF STRONG TO POSSIBLY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL SHIFT EAST
OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS
AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR THROUGH AT LEAST MIDDAY
SATURDAY. THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE HEAVY RAIN...BUT SMALL HAIL
WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS
LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

BCC

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 7, 6:36 PM CDT, 52 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
636 PM CDT FRI APR 07 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0633 PM     TSTM WND GST     MUSCLE SHOALS           34.74N 87.67W
04/07/2006  M66 MPH          COLBERT            AL   ASOS

&&

BCC/DL

Local storm report, Apr 7, 6:37 PM CDT, 51 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
637 PM CDT FRI APR 07 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0636 PM     HAIL             SHEFFIELD               34.77N 87.70W
04/07/2006  M0.50 INCH       COLBERT            AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            DIME HAIL.

&&

BCC/DL

Local storm report, Apr 7, 6:41 PM CDT, 47 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
641 PM CDT FRI APR 07 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0635 PM     TSTM WND DMG     7 ESE CHEROKEE          34.72N 87.85W
04/07/2006                   COLBERT            AL   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TREE BRANCHES SNAPPED OFF AND FLAGPOLE BENT TO THE GROUND
            NEAR RED ROCK.

0640 PM     HAIL             N FLORENCE              34.80N 87.68W
04/07/2006  M0.50 INCH       LAUDERDALE         AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            PEA TO DIME SIZE HAIL.

0641 PM     HAIL             3 E MUSCLE SHOALS       34.74N 87.61W
04/07/2006  M0.50 INCH       COLBERT            AL   AMATEUR RADIO

            DIME SIZE HAIL.

&&

BCC/DL

Local storm report, Apr 7, 6:52 PM CDT, 36 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
652 PM CDT FRI APR 07 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0652 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     1 W COXEY               34.80N 87.20W
04/07/2006                   LIMESTONE          AL   AMATEUR RADIO

            SPOTTED NEAR THE LAUDERDALE COUNTY LINE/U.S. 72 BRIDGE
            OVER THE ELK RIVER.

&&

BCC/DL

Local storm report, Apr 7, 7:00 PM CDT, 28 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
700 PM CDT FRI APR 07 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0657 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     ROGERSVILLE             34.83N 87.29W
04/07/2006                   LAUDERDALE         AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SPOTTED JUST NORTH OF TOWN.

&&

BCC/DL

Local storm report, Apr 7, 7:04 PM CDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
704 PM CDT FRI APR 07 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0645 PM     TORNADO          7 NE FAYETTEVILLE       35.22N 86.48W
04/07/2006                   LINCOLN            TN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TORNADO SPOTTED ON THE GROUND NEAR MULBERRY ALONG HIGHWAY
            50.

&&

BCC/DL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 7, 7:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Lauderdale	22 min
Apr 7, 7:15 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	HUN	Colbert, Lauderdale	4 hr
Apr 7, 7:21 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Madison	39 min
Apr 7, 7:46 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Franklin	44 min
Apr 7, 7:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Madison	20 min
Apr 7, 7:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Lauderdale, Lawrence	31 min
Apr 7, 8:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Limestone	38 min
Apr 7, 8:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Madison	47 min
Apr 7, 8:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence	49 min
Apr 7, 8:40 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Lawrence	35 min
Apr 7, 8:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Franklin	50 min
Apr 7, 8:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Madison	18 min
Apr 7, 9:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Limestone	37 min
Apr 7, 9:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Morgan	32 min
Apr 7, 9:16 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Lawrence	44 min
Apr 7, 9:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Madison	31 min
Apr 7, 9:35 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	HUN	Franklin, Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan	3 hr
Apr 7, 9:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Franklin	29 min
Apr 7, 9:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Franklin	23 min
Apr 7, 9:54 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Morgan	36 min
Apr 7, 10:00 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	HUN	Jackson, Madison	3 hr
Apr 7, 10:01 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Lawrence	44 min
Apr 7, 10:13 PM CDT	Tornado Warning Emergency	HUN	Limestone, Madison	47 min
Apr 7, 10:26 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Morgan	34 min
Apr 7, 10:36 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Cullman	24 min
Apr 7, 10:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Morgan	30 min
Apr 7, 10:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Jackson, Madison	34 min
Apr 7, 11:04 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Marshall	26 min
Apr 7, 11:26 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Cullman	49 min
Apr 7, 11:27 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Marshall	21 min
Apr 7, 11:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Jackson	31 min
Apr 7, 11:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	DeKalb	39 min
Apr 7, 11:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Jackson	16 min
Apr 8, 12:04 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	DeKalb	19 min
Apr 8, 12:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Marshall	19 min
Apr 8, 12:15 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	HUN	Cullman, DeKalb, Marshall	3 hr
Apr 8, 12:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	DeKalb	20 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2006 Every tornado warning in 2006 Tornadoes in 2006

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.