Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2010

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 86, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 20, 2010Pickens County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 2010, 2:47 PM CDT for Pickens 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 counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 20, 2010, 2:47 PM CDT (19:47 UTC)
Expired: May 20, 2010, 3:30 PM CDT
In force: 43 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 19:49 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 20, 12:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 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-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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1199 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 105 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 May 20, 1:05 PM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 20, 1:05 PM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, May 20, 1:15 PM CDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
115 PM CDT THU MAY 20 2010

ALZ011>015-017>050-211745-
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-
115 PM CDT THU MAY 20 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 WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE IN FROM THE WEST THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD. THIS SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR
SOME STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS TO CENTRAL ALABAMA IN SEVERAL WAVES.

THE INITIAL THREAT FOR STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ACROSS
WESTERN ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON...AS SEVERAL BANDS OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS WILL SLIDE THROUGH THE AREA. THE MAIN AREA OF CONCERN
FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE WEST OF A CARROLLTON TO JASPER
LINE...WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE MAIN THREAT.

AS THE AFTERNOON PROGRESSES ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE TO PROGRESS EAST.
STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG AND TO THE NORTH OF THE
INTERSTATE 20 CORRIDOR...MAINLY BETWEEN 4 PM AND MIDNIGHT.  THE MAIN
THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL.

A SECOND WAVE OF THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP IN THE SOUTHEAST BY 5 PM
AND PROVIDE A CHANCE FOR STRONG STORMS SOUTH OF THE INTERSTATE 20
CORRIDOR. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE STRONG GUSTY
WINDS AND SMALL HAIL.

A THIRD WAVE OF THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP AND SLIDE THROUGH THE AREA
OVERNIGHT. DEPENDING ON THE ACTIVITY DURING THE AFTERNOON...A FEW
STRONG STORMS MAY BE POSSIBLE FROM MIDNIGHT THROUGH 7 AM. CONFIDENCE
IS LOW ON THIS THIRD WAVE AND MAY NEED TO BE REVISED AS THE NIGHT
PROGRESSES.

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

A FEW STRONG STORMS MAY LINGER INTO FRIDAY AS THE SYSTEM TRIES TO
CLEAR THE AREA. THESE STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE
STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20.

OTHERWISE NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED
ACROSS WESTERN ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 20, 2:21 PM CDT, 26 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
221 PM CDT THU MAY 20 2010

ALZ012-022-202000-
LAMAR-PICKENS-
221 PM CDT THU MAY 20 2010

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR LAMAR AND PICKENS COUNTIES UNTIL 300
PM CDT...

AT 217 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS TRACKING STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM COLUMBUS TO 19 MILES WEST
OF PANOLA...OR ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM COLUMBUS TO 26 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF PICKENSVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

NICKEL SIZE HAIL AND WINDS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE
STORMS.

* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH INCLUDE...
  FOREST.
  MELBORNE.
  STAR.
  PICKENSVILLE.
  HIGHTOGY.
  GARDEN.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CDT
THURSDAY EVENING FOR NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA.

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

14

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 20, 1:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lamar	28 min
May 20, 3:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Pickens	33 min
May 20, 3:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Tuscaloosa	45 min
May 20, 3:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Sumter	35 min
May 20, 4:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	65 min
May 20, 4:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	52 min
May 20, 5:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	39 min
May 20, 5:13 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	3 hr
May 20, 5:26 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Greene, Pickens, Sumter	3 hr
May 20, 5:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Sumter	17 min
May 20, 5:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Bibb, Tuscaloosa	43 min
May 20, 6:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Bibb, Jefferson, Shelby, Tuscaloosa	41 min
May 20, 6:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson, Shelby	38 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.