Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2009

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 393, NWS Birmingham, AL

July 26, 2009Barbour County, Bullock County, Russell County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 26, 2009, 5:36 PM CDT for Barbour County, Bullock County, Russell 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 26, 2009, 5:36 PM CDT (22:36 UTC)
Expired
Jul 26, 2009, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Russell County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 175 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 2009-07-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 985 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 2009-07-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -28 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
985 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-78 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1161 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
4 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
17 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 26, 2:49 PM CDT, 2 hours 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 26, 2:49 PM CDT, 2 hours 47 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
249 PM CDT SUN JUL 26 2009

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.

DIFFERENTIAL HEATING PROVED TO BE THE WINNER TODAY.  MENTIONED IN
THE MORNING DISCUSSION THE HIGH CLOUD DECK THAT SET UP ACROSS THE NW
COUNTIES THIS MORNING.  HIGH PRESSURE KEPT THAT DECK IN
PLACE...ALLOWING FOR THE EARTHS SURFACE TO WARM JUST ENOUGH TO GET
CONVECTION INITIATED THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE REST OF THE STATE.
THE MAJORITY OF THE CONVECTION WILL REMAIN SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20
THIS AFTERNOON...AND THESE STORMS WILL CARRY WITH THEM THE POTENTIAL
FOR WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH AND A THREAT OF SMALL HAIL AS 500MB
TEMPERATURES HAVE MANAGED TO REACH -8 DEGREES...UNSEASONABLY COOL
FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR

THIS ACTIVITY IS AHEAD OF A FAIRLY WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT IS
EXPECTED TO SLOWLY MAKES ITS WAY INTO THE STATE TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
MORNING.  MODELS LOOK TO BE IN AGREEMENT THAT THE BOUNDARY WILL HAVE
A DIFFICULT TIME MAKING IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE CWA...SO THE
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE WITH US YET AGAIN MONDAY AS THE AIR
HEATS UP.  FOCUS SHOULD BE ALONG THIS BOUNDARY...WHERE EVER IT SETS
UP...BUT ANY OUTFLOWS FROM TODAYS ACTIVITY WILL CREATE A FOCUS FOR
LIFT MONDAY AFTERNOON AS WELL.

.LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

OVERALL PATTERN IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST HAS NOT CHANGED MUCH...WITH
TROUGHING OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE UNITED STATES AND HIGH
PRESSURE DOMINATING THE WEATHER FORECASTS OUT WEST.  THE MAIN
FEATURE WE WILL HAVE TO CONTINUE MONITORING FOR MID WEEK WILL BE THE
BERMUDA HIGH AND HOW FAR INLAND IT WILL PUSH.  THIS WILL BE THE ONE
OF...IF NOT THE...FACTOR IN HOW MUCH PRECIPITATION CENTRAL ALABAMA
RECEIVES THIS WEEK.  THE FURTHER IT BUILDS TO THE WEST...THE LESS
LIKELY IT WILL BE FOR US TO SEE ANY REAL ORGANIZED ACTIVITY.

FOR NOW...THE WETTEST DAYS STILL LOOK TO BE TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY AS
MULTIPLE SHORTWAVE TROUGHS SWING AROUND THE SOUTHERN PERIPHERY OF
THE UPPER LEVEL LOW PARKED OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION. CAN EXPECT
THE POSSIBILITY OF STRONG STORMS EACH DAY AS LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES
WILL BE JUST ABOUT DRY ADIABATIC AND PLENTY OF MOISTURE WILL BE
AROUND.

TEMPERATURES WILL NOT LIKELY BE AN ISSUE THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST
PERIOD AS THE COMBINATION OF CLOUDS AND GENERAL TROUGHINESS ALOFT
WILL KEEP US AROUND CLIMO PLUS OR MINUS TWO DEGREES.

27

&&

.AVIATION...18Z TAF DISCUSSION.

DECAYING CONVECTIVE COMPLEX THAT MOVED SSE ACROSS MS MERGED WITH
DEVELOPING OUTFLOW STORMS AND HAS FORMED NEW AREA OF TSRA GROWTH.
THIS SHOULD REMAIN ACROSS MS AND NOT AL. HOWEVER...AMPLE HEATING
ACROSS MOST SE 2/3 OF AL IS CAUSING RAPID CU FIELD DEVELOPMENT WHICH
WILL AIDE IN TSRA DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING WITH
ADDITIONAL UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES EXPECTED TO AFFECT AL. ACTIVITY
WILL CONTINUE TO BE STAIR-STEPPED WITH ONSET...TAPERING OFF AFTER
MIDNIGHT EXCEPT MGM/TOI AS SYSTEM SWINGS EWD THROUGH BASE OF UPPER
TROUGH.

NOTE...TECHNICIANS ARE AWAITING ADDITIONAL ASOS PARTS.
THEREFORE...KEET CEILOMETER WILL CONTINUE TO BE OUT UNTIL AT LEAST
MONDAY.  DEPENDING ON ONSET OF ACTIVITY. TAF MAY NEED TO BE GIVEN A
NIL LATER TODAY. AS FOR NOW AMD NOT SKED IS BEING APPENDED TO TAF.

08

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
GADSDEN     71  88  71  87  72 /  40  30  10  50  60
ANNISTON    70  88  69  87  70 /  40  40  10  50  60
BIRMINGHAM  70  88  70  86  71 /  40  30  20  50  60
TUSCALOOSA  72  91  71  88  72 /  40  30  20  60  60
CALERA      71  88  70  86  71 /  40  40  20  60  60
AUBURN      70  89  68  87  70 /  50  50  20  50  50
MONTGOMERY  73  90  72  87  72 /  50  50  30  60  50
TROY        72  90  70  89  71 /  50  50  30  60  40

&&

.BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

27/08
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 26, 1:10 PM CDT, 4 hours 26 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
110 PM CDT SUN JUL 26 2009

ALZ011>015-017>050-271300-
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-
110 PM CDT SUN JUL 26 2009

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

SCATTERED STRONG...AND A FEW ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTHEAST OF
INTERSTATE 59 WHERE GREATEST HEATING AND INSTABILITY HAS DEVELOPED.
THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AND HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN
ARE POSSIBLE AT ANY TIME ACROSS ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA MONDAY
THROUGH WEDNESDAY.  THERE MAY BE STRONG STORMS THURSDAY THROUGH
SATURDAY...BUT CONFIDENCE IS NOT AS HIGH AT THIS POINT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE
NECESSARY ALONG AND SOUTHEAST INTERSTATE 59 BY LATE AFTERNOON.

08

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 26, 3:13 PM CDT, 2 hours 23 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 3:40 PM CDT, 1 hour 56 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 5:23 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 5:23 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 5:24 PM CDT, 12 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 5:24 PM CDT, 12 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 26, 5:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Elmore, Montgomery27 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.