Alert archive / Alabama / Special Weather Statements in 2011

Special Weather Statement, NWS Birmingham, AL

August 20, 2011Coosa County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this special weather statement at Aug 20, 2011, 1:44 PM CDT for Coosa County, Alabama. It was in force for 31 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
Aug 20, 2011, 1:44 PM CDT (18:44 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 2011, 2:15 PM CDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL

County Coosa County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 28 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:44 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

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 189 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2011-08-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1091 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2011-08-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 42 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1091 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-68 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1222 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Aug 20, 11:00 AM CDT, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 11:00 AM CDT, 2 hours 44 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>
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 20, 1:27 PM CDT, 17 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
127 PM CDT SAT AUG 20 2011

ALZ011>015-017>050-211830-
MARION-LAMAR-FAYETTE-WINSTON-WALKER-BLOUNT-ETOWAH-CALHOUN-
CHEROKEE-CLEBURNE-PICKENS-TUSCALOOSA-JEFFERSON-SHELBY-ST. CLAIR-
TALLADEGA-CLAY-RANDOLPH-SUMTER-GREENE-HALE-PERRY-BIBB-CHILTON-
COOSA-TALLAPOOSA-CHAMBERS-MARENGO-DALLAS-AUTAUGA-LOWNDES-ELMORE-
MONTGOMERY-MACON-BULLOCK-LEE-RUSSELL-PIKE-BARBOUR-
127 PM CDT SAT AUG 20 2011

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AREAWIDE FROM 1 PM
THROUGH 9 PM. STRONG DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH
ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS NOT
EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 20, 1:25 PM CDT, 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
125 PM CDT SAT AUG 20 2011

ALZ037-038-047-201900-
CHAMBERS AL-LEE AL-TALLAPOOSA AL-
125 PM CDT SAT AUG 20 2011

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWESTERN CHAMBERS...EASTERN
TALLAPOOSA AND NORTHWESTERN LEE COUNTIES UNTIL 200 PM CDT...

AT 121 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAS TRACKING A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM NEAR WEST CHAMBERS...OR 6 MILES EAST OF CAMP HILL...
MOVING SOUTH AT 10 MPH.

PEA SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM.

LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  OPELIKA...
  STURKIE...
  WAVERLY...
  OAK BOWERY...
  ROXANA...

&&

LAT...LON 3262 8534 3260 8576 3289 8570 3293 8547
TIME...MOT...LOC 1825Z 346DEG 9KT 3282 8554

17/KLAWS
Special weather statement, Aug 20, 1:44 PM CDT, 0 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
144 PM CDT SAT AUG 20 2011

ALZ025-035-036-201915-
CHILTON AL-COOSA AL-SHELBY AL-
144 PM CDT SAT AUG 20 2011

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHERN SHELBY...NORTHWESTERN
COOSA AND NORTHEASTERN CHILTON COUNTIES UNTIL 215 PM CDT...

AT 139 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAS TRACKING A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM NEAR BLUE SPRINGS...OR 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TALLADEGA
SPRINGS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 5 MPH.

PEA SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM.

LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  BLUE SPRINGS...
  MARBLE VALLEY...
  LAY LAKE DAM...

&&

LAT...LON 3289 8659 3311 8667 3317 8649 3314 8648
      3313 8646 3312 8646 3311 8649 3310 8643
      3298 8634
TIME...MOT...LOC 1844Z 337DEG 3KT 3306 8653

17/KLAWS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 1:25 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXChambers35 min
Aug 20, 1:56 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXElmore34 min
Aug 20, 2:08 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXCoosa37 min
Aug 20, 3:28 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryBMXJefferson, Shelby2 hr
Aug 20, 3:35 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementBMXShelby25 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.