Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2010

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 262, NWS Birmingham, AL

August 5, 2010Pickens County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 5, 2010, 5:19 PM CDT for Pickens County, Alabama. It was in force for 41 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
Aug 5, 2010, 5:19 PM CDT (22:19 UTC)
Expired
Aug 5, 2010, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Storm-based polygon

County Pickens County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:20 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 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 122 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 2010-08-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1520 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 2010-08-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 0 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
1520 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-93 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
925 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
3 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
33 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 Aug 5, 3:16 PM CDT, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 3:16 PM CDT, 2 hours 3 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 5, 1:04 PM CDT, 4 hours 15 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
104 PM CDT THU AUG 5 2010

ALZ011>015-017>050-061805-
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-
104 PM CDT THU AUG 5 2010

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF CENTRAL
ALABAMA THROUGH 7 PM CDT. AFTERNOON HIGHS WILL ONCE AGAIN BE IN THE
UPPER 90S TO LOWER 100S...WITH HEAT INDICES OF 108 TO 115 DEGREES.

STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA
THROUGH 9 PM THIS EVENING AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY SLIDES SOUTHWARD
TOWARD THE AREA. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH AND
BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL. A FEW STORMS COULD REACH SEVERE LIMITS ACROSS
NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA IN CLOSER PROXIMITY TO THE BOUNDARY...WITH
DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE MAIN THREAT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE A COUPLE OF DEGREES COOLER ON
FRIDAY...BUT STILL HOT...SO A HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR
FRIDAY. HEAT INDICES WILL BE IN THE 105 TO 110 DEGREE RANGE IN
MANY LOCATIONS.

A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...ACROSS ALL OF CENTRAL ALABAMA...AS A FRONT
PUSHES THROUGH. DAMAGING WINDS...HEAVY DOWNPOURS...AND LOCALIZED
FLOODING WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS.

STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON AS WELL AS
THE FRONT WORKS OUT OF THE AREA. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE WIND
GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE
NEEDED FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND FRIDAY EVENING.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 5, 1:51 PM CDT, 3 hours 28 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
151 PM CDT THU AUG 5 2010

ALZ011-051930-
MARION AL-
151 PM CDT THU AUG 5 2010

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN MARION COUNTY UNTIL 230
PM CDT...

AT 149 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAS TRACKING A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM NEAR HACKLEBURG...OR 11 MILES NORTHEAST OF HAMILTON...
MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 5 MPH.

WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH
FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  BRINN...
  LAKE BUTTAHATCHEE...
  TESSNER...
  BEAR CREEK...
  PEARCES MILL...

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...TAKE SHELTER IN A
STURDY BUILDING.

75
Local storm report, Aug 5, 2:30 PM CDT, 2 hours 49 minutes before
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Local storm report, Aug 5, 2:58 PM CDT, 2 hours 21 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Aug 5, 4:06 PM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Aug 5, 4:57 PM CDT, 22 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Aug 5, 5:13 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 4, 7:29 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXPickens2 hr
Aug 4, 7:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne49 min
Aug 4, 8:07 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXPickens113 min
Aug 4, 8:15 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXCalhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne3 hr
Aug 5, 2:16 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXMarion119 min
Aug 5, 4:45 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXLamar2 hr
Aug 5, 6:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo, Perry26 min
Aug 5, 6:38 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXJefferson67 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2010Every 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.