Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2010

Tornado Warning 20, NWS Mobile, AL

May 21, 2010Clarke County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at May 21, 2010, 5:58 PM CDT for Clarke 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 21, 2010, 5:58 PM CDT (22:58 UTC)
Expired: May 21, 2010, 6:22 PM CDT
In force: 24 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Clarke County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:58 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, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 201 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

The text

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

925 
WFUS54 KMOB 212258
TORMOB
ALC025-220000-
/O.NEW.KMOB.TO.W.0020.100521T2258Z-100522T0000Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
558 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2010

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL CLARKE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 700 PM CDT

* AT 553 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF
  ALLEN...OR ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GROVE HILL...MOVING SOUTHEAST
  AT 15 MPH. YET ANOTHER CIRCULATION HAS DEVELOPED RAPIDLY WITH     
  THIS THUNDERSTORM.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  ALLEN BY 615 PM CDT...
  SUGGSVILLE BY 625 PM CDT...

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.

TO REPORT ANY TORNADOES...FUNNEL CLOUDS...OR OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER
OBSERVATIONS TO YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...CALL TOLL FREE AT 1 8
7 7 6 3 3 6 7 7 2.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT FRIDAY
EVENING FOR SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA.

LAT...LON 3163 8756 3156 8756 3152 8761 3149 8757
      3148 8757 3142 8761 3142 8762 3143 8763
      3143 8766 3142 8767 3166 8789 3170 8782
TIME...MOT...LOC 2258Z 302DEG 15KT 3164 8780

$$

1 follow-up statement

478 
WWUS54 KMOB 212322
SVSMOB

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
622 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2010

ALC025-212332-
/O.CAN.KMOB.TO.W.0020.000000T0000Z-100522T0000Z/
CLARKE AL-
622 PM CDT FRI MAY 21 2010

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR EAST CENTRAL CLARKE COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT FRIDAY
EVENING FOR SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA.

LAT...LON 3163 8756 3156 8756 3152 8761 3149 8757
      3148 8757 3142 8761 3142 8762 3143 8763
      3143 8766 3142 8767 3166 8789 3170 8782
TIME...MOT...LOC 2322Z 302DEG 15KT 3159 8770

$$

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 21, 1:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile, Washington	23 min
May 21, 3:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Choctaw	30 min
May 21, 4:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Choctaw, Clarke	57 min
May 21, 4:31 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Choctaw, Clarke	44 min
May 21, 4:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke	36 min
May 21, 5:04 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Clarke	41 min
May 21, 5:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Washington	60 min
May 21, 5:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke	59 min
May 21, 6:17 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Clarke, Washington	43 min
May 21, 6:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Washington	59 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2010 Every tornado warning in 2010 Tornadoes 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.