Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2008

Tornado Watch 861

August 24, 200844 counties in Alabama; 21 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 24, 2008, 11:47 AM CDT for 44 counties in Alabama; 21 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 8 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 24, 2008, 11:47 AM CDT (16:47 UTC)
Expired
Aug 24, 2008, 7:47 PM CDT
In force
8 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
0.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 65 counties

Autauga County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Butler County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Pike County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Russell County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Baker County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clay County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Harris County, GA, Heard County, GA, Marion County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Troup County, GA, Webster County, GA

What SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
30%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
10%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
5%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
20%

Warnings issued inside it

11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 24, 12:11 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMacon, Tallapoosa34 min
Aug 24, 1:36 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXAutauga, Chilton, Elmore24 min
Aug 24, 1:57 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXAutauga, Chilton, Coosa, Elmore33 min
Aug 24, 2:00 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXElmore30 min
Aug 24, 2:25 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXChilton, Coosa39 min
Aug 24, 2:27 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCoosa, Elmore33 min
Aug 24, 2:53 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXAutauga, Chilton20 min
Aug 24, 3:13 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFayette, Tuscaloosa32 min
Aug 24, 4:02 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFayette, Lamar28 min
Aug 24, 4:58 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJefferson, Walker32 min
Aug 24, 6:07 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXAutauga23 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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 4.8 hours before the alert went out and 128 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 2008-08-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 292 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 2008-08-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 183 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
292 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
515 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
183 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
166 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 23, 7:06 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bullock, Crenshaw, Elmore, Henry and 6 more84 min
Aug 23, 7:40 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Chilton and 13 more7 hr
Aug 23, 9:13 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bullock, Chilton, Coosa, Crenshaw and 9 more92 min
Aug 24, 2:00 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Bibb, Bullock, Chilton, Coosa, Elmore and 7 more90 min
Aug 24, 2:51 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Chambers, Chilton and 14 more4 hr
Aug 24, 10:11 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Chambers and 24 more2 hr
Aug 24, 2:55 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Chambers and 24 more95 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2008Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2008Every tornado watch 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.