Alert archive / Alabama / Special Weather Statements in 2011
Special Weather Statement, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this special weather statement at Apr 21, 2011, 12:50 AM CDT for Pickens County, Alabama. It was in force for 40 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
- Apr 21, 2011, 12:50 AM CDT (05:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 21, 2011, 1:30 AM CDT
- In force
- 40 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
County Pickens County, AL
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 118 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1060 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -143 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1220 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 128 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 84 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this special weather statement 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 special weather statement went out at Apr 20, 8:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 20, 8:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 830 PM CDT WED APR 20 2011 .UPDATE... MESOSCALE UPDATE. && .DISCUSSION... SURFACE ANALYSIS HAS EFFECTIVE FRONT LOCATED FROM NEAR TUSCALOOSA TO NEAR AUBURN THIS EVENING. NEAR SURFACE AIRMASS BEHIND THIS FRONT IS STILL RATHER STABLE DUE TO THE RAIN-COOLED AIR FROM THE THUNDERSTORMS EARLIER IN THE DAY. EVEN A BUBBLE HIGH STILL EXIST NORTH OF BIRMINGHAM FROM THIS PREVIOUS ACTIVITY. BACK WEST...A WEAK SURFACE LOW APPEARS SOUTHWEST OF GTR THIS EVENING...A WEAK SURFACE REFLECTION OF AN ATMOSPHERIC SPIN EVIDENT ACROSS NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI. SUPERCELL STRUCTURES HAVE BEEN NOTED ON SEVERAL STORMS IN CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI WITH VERY LARGE HAIL BEING REPORTED AND SOME WIND DAMAGE. THE THUNDERSTORMS BEHIND THE SUPERCELLS ARE BECOMING MORE LINEARLY ORIENTED AND WITH EFFECTIVE BULK SHEAR VALUES 45+...EXPECT THESE STORMS TO CONTINUE ORGANIZING. SO WHAT TO EXPECT...THE OVERALL TORNADO THREAT APPEARS LIMITED AS LOW LEVEL SHEAR IS MARGINAL. BUT STORMS THAT FORM SOUTH OF THE BOUNDARY AND MOVE NEAR IT WILL HAVE SOME TORNADO POTENTIAL...MAINLY FOR AREAS FROM TUSCALOOSA TO ALICEVILE NORTHWARD. IT APPEARS THAT A MORE WIND AND HAIL THREAT IS DEVELOPING WITH THE ORGANIZING LINE...AS VERY UNSTABLE AIR IS FEEDING INTO THE AREA FROM THE SOUTH. EVEN IF ELEVATED...ELEVATED SOUNDINGS ARE ALSO UNSTABLE. ADDITIONALLY...FLASH FLOODING WILL BECOME A GREATER THREAT HERE SHORTLY AS THESE STORMS MOVE IN. GREATEST THREAT AREA THE NEXT FEW HOURS THE NORTHWEST QUADRANT. WILL MONITOR INSTABILITY AS THE WATCH MAY HAVE TO BE EXTENDED EASTWARD A FEW COUNTIES SHORTLY. 75/LINHARES && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED AT 309 PM CDT WED APR 20 2011/. COLD FRONT IS NOT EXPECTED TO SLIDE MUCH FARTHER SOUTH THAT WHERE IT IS CURRENTLY LOCATED ALONG THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ALABAMA. CONDITIONS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20 STILL REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS BUT THE EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER HAS KEPT MOST STORMS IN CHECK AS IT IS HELPING THE CAP HOLD IN PLACE. AS WE HEAD INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...THE THREAT THEN SHIFTS TO MORE OF A HEAVY RAIN EVENT. COMPUTER MODELS INDICATE THAT WE COULD SEE SEVERAL UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVES BETWEEN NOW AND TOMORROW MORNING RIDING ALONG THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY. EACH WAVE COULD ENHANCE CONVECTION WITH THE END RESULT BEING TRAINING THUNDERSTORMS OR STORMS THAT KEEP MOVING ACROSS THE SAME LOCATION. CURRENTLY THINKING THAT AMOUNTS WILL RANGE BETWEEN 1 AND 3 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. CURRENT THINKING IS THAT BEST AREA FOR THE HEAVY RAIN WILL BE ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20 AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 65. FRONT IS EXPECTED TO PUSH BACK TO THE NORTH EARLY FRIDAY ENDING THE HEAVY RAIN THREAT. DRY AND WARMER CONDITIONS ARE ON TAP JUST IN TIME FOR THE WEEKEND. HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER THE ATLANTIC WILL PREVAIL FOR MUCH OF NEXT WEEK...WHICH IS A PATTERN TYPICAL IN THE SUMMER. THIS WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA ABOVE NORMAL WHICH WILL HELP TRIGGER ISOLATED AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS FOR MOST OF NEXT WEEK. 10/ARM && .AVIATION...18Z TAF DISCUSSION. VERY COMPLEX AVIATION FORECAST UPCOMING AS MULTIPLE SHORTWAVES ALOFT AND SURFACE BOUNDARIES INTERACT TODAY AND TONIGHT ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA. THE FIRST WAVE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAS STALLED NEAR THE I-20 TAF LOCATIONS BUT OUTFLOW HAS PUSHED SOUTHWARD AND NEW THUNDERSTORM INITIATION HAS BEGUN BETWEEN MGM AND TOI. BOTTOM LINE...THE NEXT 6 HOURS WILL BE DOMINATED BY THE PRESENCE OF ONGOING CONVECTION. VC SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE EXPECTED AT ANY TIME WITH PREDOMINANT SOUTHERLY WINDS AND VARIABILITY IN ANY THUNDERSTORMS. NONE OF THE 12Z MODELS HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THE CURRENT WEATHER...BUT THE ATMOSPHERE SHOULD BECOME A LITTLE MORE STABLE OVERNIGHT WITH MORE SCATTERED COVERAGE. SOUTHERLY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE IN THE LOWER TO MID LEVELS AND IFR CEILINGS ARE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT AND BEGIN A SLOW LIFT LATE TOMORROW MORNING. NOTICE...KEET TAF WILL HAVE (AMD LTD TO VIS WIND AND WX) AMENDED TO THE END OF THE FORECAST UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE CEILOMETER DATA WILL BE GOING THROUGH NUMEROUS TESTS AND MONITORED FOR ACCURACY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... GADSDEN 57 79 58 83 57 / 70 60 50 20 10 ANNISTON 62 83 61 84 58 / 70 60 50 20 10 BIRMINGHAM 63 80 64 86 63 / 70 60 40 10 10 TUSCALOOSA 62 83 61 87 62 / 70 30 20 10 10 CALERA 64 81 62 85 60 / 70 40 30 10 10 AUBURN 64 85 63 84 61 / 50 40 40 10 10 MONTGOMERY 65 85 62 87 59 / 50 30 20 10 10 TROY 64 86 61 85 58 / 40 20 20 10 10 && .BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES: BIBB...BLOUNT...CALHOUN...CHEROKEE...CHILTON...CLAY... CLEBURNE...COOSA...ETOWAH...FAYETTE...GREENE...HALE... JEFFERSON...LAMAR...MARION...PERRY...PICKENS...RANDOLPH... SHELBY...ST. CLAIR...SUMTER...TALLADEGA...TUSCALOOSA...WALKER... WINSTON. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 20, 8:11 PM CDT, 4 hours 39 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 811 PM CDT WED APR 20 2011 ALZ011>015-017>050-211130- 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- 811 PM CDT WED APR 20 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE COUNTIES SERVED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN BIRMINGHAM. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE NEAR AND WEST OF A LINE FROM ONEONTA TO TALLADEGA TO ALEXANDER CITY. THE OVERALL TORNADO THREAT IS LOW. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS OF THE AREA...SO SOME FLOODING IS POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS...WITH A LESSER THREAT OF LARGE HAIL. OVERALL TORNADO THREAT SHOULD REMAIN LOW THROUGH THURSDAY. STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN BE POSSIBLE FOR TUESDAY... AHEAD OF A SURFACE FRONT. CONFIDENCE REMAINS LOW AT THIS TIME DUE TO TIMING INCONSISTENCIES ONLY...AND NOT DUE TO ANY LACK OF OVERALL FORCING AND INSTABILITY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE STORMS. 75
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 21, 12:28 AM CDT, 22 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1228 AM CDT THU APR 21 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1028 PM TSTM WND DMG ARLEY 34.08N 87.21W
04/20/2011 WINSTON AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN IN AND AROUND ARLEY.
&&
JTLocal storm report, Apr 21, 12:29 AM CDT, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1229 AM CDT THU APR 21 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1015 PM TSTM WND DMG DOUBLE SPRINGS 34.15N 87.40W
04/20/2011 WINSTON AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN IN AND AROUND DOUBLE SPRINGS.
&&
JTLocal storm report, Apr 21, 12:33 AM CDT, 17 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1233 AM CDT THU APR 21 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1206 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 NNW TALLADEGA 33.50N 86.14W
04/21/2011 TALLADEGA AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREE DONW IN FRONT OF STEMLEY SCHOOL BLOCKING ROAD.
&&
JTLocal storm report, Apr 21, 12:34 AM CDT, 16 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1234 AM CDT THU APR 21 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1206 AM TSTM WND DMG TALLADEGA 33.43N 86.10W
04/21/2011 TALLADEGA AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREE DOWN ON THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING AT THE CITY
COURT APT ON BROADWAY ROAD.
&&
JTLocal storm report, Apr 21, 12:37 AM CDT, 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1237 AM CDT THU APR 21 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1111 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 SSE BIRMINGHAM 33.50N 86.78W
04/20/2011 JEFFERSON AL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREES DOWN ON MIZAUMA AVE AT 27TH PL S ALLEY, CLAIRMONT
AVE AT 44TH PL S, AND COTTON AVE.
&&
JTSpecial weather statement, Apr 21, 12:50 AM CDT, 0 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 7:10 PM CDT | Special Weather Statement | BMX | Marion | 50 min |
| Apr 20, 8:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 39 min |
| Apr 20, 8:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar, Marion | 46 min |
| Apr 20, 8:54 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Lamar | 3 hr |
| Apr 20, 9:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Winston | 52 min |
| Apr 20, 9:36 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Winston | 3 hr |
| Apr 20, 9:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar, Marion, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Walker and 1 more | 66 min |
| Apr 20, 10:12 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Fayette, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Winston | 3 hr |
| Apr 20, 10:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Greene, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa | 47 min |
| Apr 20, 10:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb, Blount, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Walker | 54 min |
| Apr 20, 10:40 PM CDT | Areal Flood Advisory | BMX | Blount, Greene, Jefferson, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa and 1 more | 3 hr |
| Apr 20, 11:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount, Etowah, Jefferson, St. Clair, Talladega | 49 min |
| Apr 20, 11:52 PM CDT | Areal Flood Advisory | BMX | Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, St. Clair, Talladega | 3 hr |
| Apr 20, 11:58 PM CDT | Special Weather Statement | BMX | Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah | 62 min |
| Apr 21, 12:12 AM CDT | Special Weather Statement | BMX | Chambers, Clay, Coosa, Randolph | 63 min |
| Apr 21, 12:30 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Lamar, Marion, Pickens | 3 hr |
| Apr 21, 12:40 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cleburne | 28 min |
| Apr 21, 3:03 AM CDT | Special Weather Statement | BMX | Greene, Sumter | 42 min |
| Apr 21, 7:36 AM CDT | River Flood Warning | BMX | Greene, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter | 65 hr |
| Apr 21, 8:08 AM CDT | Areal Flood Warning | BMX | Lamar | 36 hr |
| Apr 21, 9:23 AM CDT | River Flood Warning | BMX | Greene, Hale, Marengo | 5 days |
| Apr 21, 2:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Sumter | 36 min |
| Apr 21, 2:43 PM CDT | Special Weather Statement | BMX | Greene, Sumter | 32 min |
| Apr 21, 3:24 PM CDT | Special Weather Statement | BMX | Greene | 51 min |
| Apr 21, 6:13 PM CDT | Special Weather Statement | BMX | Chilton | 47 min |
Nearby
Special Weather Statements in Alabama, 2011Every special weather statement in 2011
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.