Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Mobile, AL

February 18, 2009Choctaw County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 18, 2009, 6:17 PM CST for Choctaw County, Alabama. It was in force for 43 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: Feb 18, 2009, 6:17 PM CST (00:17 UTC)
Expired: Feb 18, 2009, 7:00 PM CST
In force: 43 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Choctaw County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 156 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:20 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 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 156 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: 357 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -46 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1137 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 181 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 168 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 3.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KMOB 190017
TORMOB
ALC023-190100-
/O.NEW.KMOB.TO.W.0007.090219T0017Z-090219T0100Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
617 PM CST WED FEB 18 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CHOCTAW COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 700 PM CST

* AT 617 PM CST...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 13 MILES WEST OF
  YANTLEY...OR ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MERIDIAN...MOVING EAST AT
  40 MPH.

* THE  TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  YANTLEY BY 635 PM CST...
  HALSELL BY 640 PM CST...
  JACHIN BY 650 PM CST...
  INDIAN SPRINGS AND DEAS BY 655 PM CST...

IF YOU ARE IN MOBILE HOME...EVACUATE IT AND GET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING OR IN AN UNDERGROUND STORM SHELTER. IF NO
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER IS AVAILABLE AND A TORNADO IS FAST APPROACHING...
SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW DEPRESSION AND COVER YOUR
HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

DO NOT USE YOUR VEHICLE TO TRY TO OUTRUN AN APPROACHING TORNADO. ANY
SIZE OF VEHICLE CAN BE EASILY BE TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADIC WINDS. IF
YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...LEAVE THE VEHICLE AND SEEK
SHELTER IN A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO SAFE STRUCTURE IS AVAILABLE...
SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW DEPRESSION AND COVER YOUR
HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. DO NOT USE HIGHWAY OVERPASSES FOR SHELTER.
OVERPASSES DO NOT PROVIDE PROTECTION FROM TORNADIC WINDS.

LAT...LON 3231 8792 3229 8793 3230 8795 3230 8798
      3228 8801 3226 8800 3216 8800 3215 8804
      3219 8844 3231 8842 3232 8793
TIME...MOT...LOC 0017Z 275DEG 36KT 3228 8857

$$

2 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS54 KMOB 190045
SVSMOB

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
645 PM CST WED FEB 18 2009

ALC023-190100-
/O.CON.KMOB.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-090219T0100Z/
CHOCTAW AL-
645 PM CST WED FEB 18 2009

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CST FOR
NORTHEASTERN CHOCTAW COUNTY...

AT 645 PM CST...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONTINUED TO INDICATE A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.  THIS TORNADO WAS
NEAR HALSELL...OR ABOUT 14 MILES NORTH OF BUTLER...MOVING EAST AT 40
MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  JACHIN BY 655 PM CST...
  EDNA...INDIAN SPRINGS...DEAS AND ROBJOHN BY 700 PM CST...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
STURDY BUILDING...PREFERABLY IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR A ROOM SUCH AS
A CLOSET OR BATHROOM. IF POSSIBLE...GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR OTHER
PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY
AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS
STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE DAMAGING HAIL OR DAMAGING
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

LAT...LON 3231 8792 3229 8793 3230 8795 3230 8798
      3228 8801 3226 8800 3225 8800 3217 8801
      3225 8832 3231 8832 3232 8793
TIME...MOT...LOC 0045Z 269DEG 36KT 3228 8828

$$

000 
WWUS54 KMOB 190101
SVSMOB

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
701 PM CST WED FEB 18 2009

ALC023-190105-
/O.EXP.KMOB.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-090219T0100Z/
CHOCTAW AL-
700 PM CST WED FEB 18 2009

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN CHOCTAW COUNTY HAS BEEN 
ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 700 PM CST...

THE THUNDERSTORM THAT PROMPTED THE ISSUANCE OF THE TORNADO WARNING 
FOR NORTHEASTERN CHOCTAW COUNTY HAD WEAKENED BELOW SEVERE LIMITS. 
THEREFORE THE TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE. SMALL HAIL 
AND GUSTY WINDS TO 40 MPH MAY STILL OCCUR WITH THIS STORM AS IT EXIT 
THE NORTHEAST PORTION OF THE COUNTY.

LAT...LON 3231 8792 3229 8793 3230 8795 3230 8798
      3228 8801 3226 8800 3225 8800 3217 8801
      3225 8832 3231 8832 3232 8793
TIME...MOT...LOC 0055Z 270DEG 48KT 3228 8807

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 18, 6:46 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Washington	44 min
Feb 18, 7:22 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Clarke, Monroe, Washington	38 min
Feb 18, 7:56 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Conecuh, Monroe	21 min
Feb 18, 8:20 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	25 min
Feb 18, 11:42 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		85 min
Feb 19, 12:14 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		91 min
Feb 19, 12:45 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		90 min
Feb 19, 2:04 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		116 min
Feb 19, 3:24 AM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		60 min
Feb 19, 10:08 AM CST	Small Craft Advisory	MOB		24 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2009 Every tornado warning in 2009 Tornadoes 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.