Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2008
Tornado Watch 948
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 10, 2008, 1:41 AM CST for 46 counties in Alabama; 9 counties in Georgia; 9 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Dec 10, 2008, 1:41 AM CST (07:41 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 10, 2008, 6:51 AM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 64 counties
Autauga County, AL, Baldwin County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Blount County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Butler County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Cherokee County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Etowah County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pike County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Russell County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Bartow County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Chattooga County, GA, Floyd County, GA, Gordon County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Heard County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Polk County, GA, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Hancock County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jackson County, MS, Pearl River County, MS, Perry County, MS, Stone County, MS, Wayne County, MS
The radar
The Mobile radar (KMOB), 147 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:45 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.
What SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 40%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 30%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 40%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 20%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 70%
Warnings issued inside it
32 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 10, 1:48 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Perry, Wayne | 42 min |
| Dec 10, 1:55 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 9 min |
| Dec 10, 1:57 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount, Jefferson, Walker | 33 min |
| Dec 10, 2:00 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Walker | 30 min |
| Dec 10, 2:12 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Greene, Hale, Marengo, Sumter, Tuscaloosa | 48 min |
| Dec 10, 2:23 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Clarke, Wilcox | 52 min |
| Dec 10, 2:26 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount, Etowah | 34 min |
| Dec 10, 2:30 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Choctaw | 45 min |
| Dec 10, 2:32 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount, Jefferson | 28 min |
| Dec 10, 3:07 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marengo, Sumter | 23 min |
| Dec 10, 3:09 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Mobile | 25 min |
| Dec 10, 3:11 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb, Tuscaloosa | 34 min |
| Dec 10, 3:25 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Conecuh, Escambia, Monroe | 50 min |
| Dec 10, 3:28 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Autauga, Chilton, Dallas | 34 min |
| Dec 10, 3:38 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 37 min |
| Dec 10, 4:17 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 13 min |
| Dec 10, 4:22 AM CST | Tornado Warning | FFC | Chattooga | 38 min |
| Dec 10, 4:38 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 20 min |
| Dec 10, 4:40 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lowndes, Montgomery | 35 min |
| Dec 10, 4:44 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 3 hr |
| Dec 10, 4:53 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | FFC | Chattooga, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Murray and 2 more | 6 hr |
| Dec 10, 5:07 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Bibb, Chilton, Dallas, Perry | 23 min |
| Dec 10, 5:32 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Coosa, Tallapoosa | 28 min |
| Dec 10, 5:45 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Conecuh, Covington, Escambia | 45 min |
| Dec 10, 6:05 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Baldwin | 40 min |
| Dec 10, 6:09 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Baldwin | 30 min |
| Dec 10, 6:24 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pike | 51 min |
| Dec 10, 6:27 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Covington, Crenshaw | 18 min |
| Dec 10, 6:31 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Covington | 29 min |
| Dec 10, 6:39 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Haralson, Paulding, Polk | 33 min |
| Dec 10, 6:43 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pike | 47 min |
| Dec 10, 6:49 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cleburne, Randolph | 15 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 00:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 165 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 167 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -33 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 741 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 336 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 421 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 3.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
857
WWUS20 KWNS 100740
SEL8
SPC WW 100740
ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-101400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 948
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
140 AM CST WED DEC 10 2008
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
A LARGE PART OF ALABAMA
FAR WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE
PARTS OF NORTHWEST GEORGIA
PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 140 AM UNTIL 800 AM CST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 70 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES SOUTH OF GULFPORT
MISSISSIPPI TO 20 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF ROME GEORGIA. FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU8).
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 947. WATCH NUMBER 947 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER
140 AM CST.
DISCUSSION...STRONG SHEAR AND SUFFICIENT INSTABILITY CONTINUES TO
SUPPORT SUPERCELLS ALONG AND AHEAD OF LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM NRN
AL SSWWD TO SERN MS. POTENTIAL WILL CONTINUE FOR TORNADOES WITH ANY
SUPERCELL THAT DEVELOP BOTH WITH AND AHEAD OF SLOW EWD MOVING SQUALL
LINE.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23040.
...HALESSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 9, 6:15 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clarke, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe, Washington | 90 min |
| Dec 9, 8:03 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Choctaw, Clarke, Dallas and 18 more | 6 hr |
| Dec 9, 9:51 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Butler, Chilton, Coosa, Crenshaw, Elmore and 4 more | 54 min |
| Dec 9, 11:42 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blount, Chilton, Coosa, Cullman, Jefferson, Marshall and 3 more | 63 min |
| Dec 10, 1:25 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler and 42 more | 65 min |
| Dec 10, 3:31 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Butler, Calhoun and 31 more | 59 min |
| Dec 10, 5:29 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun and 31 more | 61 min |
| Dec 10, 6:47 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chambers and 22 more | 7 hr |
| Dec 10, 10:45 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barbour, Bullock, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva and 5 more | 2 hr |
| Dec 10, 1:08 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Houston | 67 min |
| Dec 9, 10:19 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston and 6 more | 56 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2008Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2008Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.