Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Mobile, AL

January 10, 2008Clarke County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Jan 10, 2008, 2:08 PM CST for Clarke County, Alabama. It was in force for 22 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: Jan 10, 2008, 2:08 PM CST (20:08 UTC)
Expired: Jan 10, 2008, 2:30 PM CST
In force: 22 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Clarke County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 143 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:08 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jan 10, 11:33 AM CST	Tornado Watch PDS	SPC	9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 178 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: 261 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 621 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 162 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 132 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KMOB 102008
TORMOB
ALC025-102030-
/O.NEW.KMOB.TO.W.0005.080110T2008Z-080110T2030Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
208 PM CST THU JAN 10 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN CLARKE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 230 PM CST

* AT 203 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR WOODS
  BLUFF...OR ABOUT 17 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BUTLER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT
  60 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  HOLTAMVILLE AND MORVIN BY 215 PM CST...

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY 
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. 

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CST THURSDAY EVENING
FOR SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI.

LAT...LON 3199 8784 3181 8805 3190 8813 3193 8806
      3194 8809 3195 8809 3201 8804 3201 8785
TIME...MOT...LOC 2008Z 229DEG 52KT 3191 8802

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS54 KMOB 102019
SVSMOB

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
219 PM CST THU JAN 10 2008

ALC025-102030-
/O.CON.KMOB.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-080110T2030Z/
CLARKE AL-
219 PM CST THU JAN 10 2008

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 230 PM CST FOR
NORTHWESTERN CLARKE COUNTY...

AT 217 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO
INDICATE A TORNADO.  THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR HOLTAMVILLE...OR
ABOUT 18 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BUTLER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
STURDY SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST
DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CST THURSDAY EVENING
FOR SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI.

LAT...LON 3201 8785 3199 8784 3187 8799 3187 8801
      3190 8804 3199 8803
TIME...MOT...LOC 2019Z 230DEG 39KT 3198 8794

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 9, 9:53 PM CST	Dense Fog Advisory	MOB	Butler, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia	9 hr
Jan 10, 11:16 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Washington	44 min
Jan 10, 11:54 AM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Choctaw, Clarke, Washington	66 min
Jan 10, 12:46 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Clarke	19 min
Jan 10, 3:24 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Choctaw	21 min
Jan 10, 3:49 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Choctaw, Washington	56 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2008 Every tornado warning in 2008 Tornadoes 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.