Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2008

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 181, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 3, 20086 counties in Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 2008, 7:18 AM CDT for 6 counties in Alabama. It was in force for 57 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 3, 2008, 7:18 AM CDT (12:18 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 2008, 8:15 AM CDT
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Autauga County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Perry County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:18 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
May 3, 7:10 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 84 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 2008-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 483 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 2008-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 410 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
483 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-65 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
501 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
410 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
445 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
11.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 6:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo, Sumter49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2008Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2008

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.