Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2010

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 118, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 21, 2010Sumter County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 21, 2010, 5:12 PM CDT for Sumter County, Alabama. It was in force for 48 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: May 21, 2010, 5:12 PM CDT (22:12 UTC)
Expired: May 21, 2010, 6:00 PM CDT
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Sumter County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 146 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:12 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 21, 11:50 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 148 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: 611 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -84 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 515 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 111 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 189 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.1

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 May 21, 3:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 3:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, May 21, 12:10 PM CDT, 5 hours 2 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1210 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2010

ALZ011>015-017>050-221800-
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-
1210 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2010

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP TODAY ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA
MAINLY WITH AFTERNOON HEATING AS STORMS MOVE SOUTHEAST...GENERALLY
ALONG AND SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM WEDOWEE TO BILLINGSLEY INCLUDING
THE MONTGOMERY METRO AREA. THESE STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO
PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AS WELL AS
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE REMAINDER OF CENTRAL ALABAMA TO THE
NORTHWEST OF THIS LINE COULD STILL SEE A STRONG STORM OR TWO WITH
GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

08

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 21, 12:51 PM CDT, 4 hours 21 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1251 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2010

ALZ030-031-211830-
GREENE-SUMTER-
1251 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2010

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR GREENE AND SUMTER COUNTIES UNTIL 130
PM CDT...

AT 1250 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS TRACKING A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM NEAR PANOLA...OR 12 MILES SOUTH OF ALICEVILLE...MOVING
EAST AT 30 MPH.

PENNY SIZE HAIL...WINDS UP TO 30 MPH...AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE
EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.

* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH INCLUDE...
  WARSAW.
  GAINESVILLE.
  NEW WEST GREENE.
  WEST GREENE.
  CLINTON.
  I 20 REST AREA NEAR EUTAW.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO...OR YOUR LOCAL
TELEVISION STATIONS FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS
CONCERNING THIS WEATHER SITUATION.

14

Local storm report, May 21, 3:09 PM CDT, 2 hours 3 minutes before

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Local storm report, May 21, 3:10 PM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before

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Special weather statement, May 21, 3:51 PM CDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before

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Special weather statement, May 21, 3:53 PM CDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before

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Local storm report, May 21, 4:09 PM CDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 20, 7:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Shelby	40 min
May 20, 7:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby	32 min
May 20, 7:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Shelby, Talladega	41 min
May 20, 7:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Blount, Jefferson, St. Clair	47 min
May 20, 8:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Blount, Etowah, St. Clair	41 min
May 20, 8:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Coosa, Elmore, Lee, Macon, Tallapoosa	36 min
May 20, 8:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Clay, Talladega	31 min
May 20, 8:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chambers, Lee, Macon, Tallapoosa	33 min
May 21, 5:38 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Lamar, Marion	3 hr
May 21, 5:39 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lamar, Marion	51 min
May 21, 6:20 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Lamar, Marion	3 hr
May 21, 6:32 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Winston	3 hr
May 21, 7:03 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Walker, Winston	3 hr
May 21, 7:47 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Walker	43 min
May 21, 8:29 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Blount, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Walker	46 min
May 21, 8:40 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Winston	5 hr
May 21, 9:07 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Blount, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby	53 min
May 21, 9:49 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Bibb, Jefferson, Shelby, Tuscaloosa	4 hr
May 21, 1:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Randolph	27 min
May 21, 1:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Hale	56 min
May 21, 1:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Dallas	47 min
May 21, 2:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Hale, Perry	59 min
May 21, 2:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Sumter	54 min
May 21, 2:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marengo, Sumter	55 min
May 21, 2:53 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Marengo	30 min
May 21, 3:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Sumter	27 min
May 21, 3:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marengo	46 min
May 21, 4:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Sumter	43 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2010 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2010

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.