Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2009

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 376, NWS Birmingham, AL

July 8, 2009Shelby County, Talladega County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 8, 2009, 2:51 PM CDT for Shelby County, Talladega County, Alabama. It was in force for 24 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
Jul 8, 2009, 2:51 PM CDT (19:51 UTC)
Expired
Jul 8, 2009, 3:15 PM CDT
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Shelby County, AL, Talladega County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:52 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 nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 38 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 2009-07-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1655 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 2009-07-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -8 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
1655 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
778 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Birmingham, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 8, 2:38 PM CDT, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 8, 2:38 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 8, 12:47 PM CDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1247 PM CDT WED JUL 8 2009

ALZ011>015-017>050-091730-
AUTAUGA-BARBOUR-BIBB-BLOUNT-BULLOCK-CALHOUN-CHAMBERS-CHEROKEE-
CHILTON-CLAY-CLEBURNE-COOSA-DALLAS-ELMORE-ETOWAH-FAYETTE-GREENE-HALE-
JEFFERSON-LAMAR-LEE-LOWNDES-MACON-MARENGO-MARION-MONTGOMERY-PERRY-
PICKENS-PIKE-RANDOLPH-RUSSELL-SHELBY-ST CLAIR-SUMTER-TALLADEGA-
TALLAPOOSA-TUSCALOOSA-WALKER-WINSTON-
1247 PM CDT WED JUL 8 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS
AFTERNOON ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE INTERSTATE 59 CORRIDOR. A FEW OF
THESE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE...MAINLY SOUTH AND EAST OF A CLANTON TO
WEDOWEE LINE. THE MAIN THREAT WITH THE STORMS WILL BE WINDS UP TO 60
MPH AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE BETWEEN 1 PM
UNTIL 9 PM.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS...CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS UP TO
45 MPH AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...ARE POSSIBLE DURING THE AFTERNOON.
THE STORMS WILL MAINLY FORM ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 85.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IS
NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 8, 2:06 PM CDT, 45 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 8, 2:11 PM CDT, 40 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 8, 1:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton17 min
Jul 8, 3:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Macon37 min
Jul 8, 5:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour, Bullock, Pike29 min
Jul 8, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPike34 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2009Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2009

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.