Alert archive / Alabama / Special Weather Statements in 2011

Special Weather Statement, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 18, 2011Etowah County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this special weather statement at Oct 18, 2011, 2:53 PM CDT for Etowah County, Alabama. It was in force for 52 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: Oct 18, 2011, 2:53 PM CDT (19:53 UTC)
Expired: Oct 18, 2011, 3:45 PM CDT
In force: 52 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL

County Etowah County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:55 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, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 139 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: 180 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -145 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1094 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 79 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 61 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

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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 Oct 18, 12:37 PM CDT, 2 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 18, 12:37 PM CDT, 2 hours 16 minutes before

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</head>
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      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
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        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 18, 1:28 PM CDT, 1 hour 25 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
128 PM CDT TUE OCT 18 2011

ALZ011>015-017>050-191830-
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-
128 PM CDT TUE OCT 18 2011

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

AN ISOLATED SEVERE STORM WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE VICINITY OF A
STRONG COLD FRONT. THE MAIN THREAT AREA WILL BE NEAR AND NORTH OF
INTERSTATE 20 THROUGH 7 PM. THE POSSIBLE THREATS INCLUDE LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND. STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE INTO THE OVERNIGHT
HOURS BUT WILL LOSE OVERALL INTENSITY THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

FOLLOWING THE STRONG COLD FRONT...THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES OF THE
FALL SEASON SO FAR ARE EXPECTED ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA. ON FRIDAY
AND SATURDAY MORNINGS...LOW TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST IN THE LOWER
TO MID 30S IN SEVERAL SPOTS. THERE IS A SMALL POSSIBILITY THAT SOME
LOCATIONS MAY DROP TO THE FREEZING MARK ONE OF THESE MORNINGS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MAY BE NECESSARY
THROUGH EARLY EVENING.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 18, 2:53 PM CDT, 0 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
253 PM CDT TUE OCT 18 2011

ALZ018-020-182045-
CHEROKEE AL-ETOWAH AL-
253 PM CDT TUE OCT 18 2011

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR ETOWAH AND WESTERN CHEROKEE
COUNTIES UNTIL 345 PM CDT...

AT 248 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAS TRACKING A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM NEAR ATTALLA...OR 7 MILES WEST OF GADSDEN...MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

PEA SIZE HAIL IS EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN.

LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  GADSDEN...
  GADSDEN MALL...
  NOCCALULA FALLS...
  REECE CITY...
  ANDERSON...

TORRENTIAL RAIN...WHICH MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES AND
UNDERPASSES...IS ALSO LIKELY. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE ON A FLOODED
ROADWAY.

&&

LAT...LON 3418 8568 3392 8612 3406 8626 3421 8607
      3421 8585 3424 8585 3425 8584 3424 8582
      3426 8580 3427 8577
TIME...MOT...LOC 1953Z 230DEG 27KT 3405 8610

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 18, 3:29 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Marion	46 min
Oct 18, 3:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marion	17 min
Oct 18, 3:45 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Cherokee	45 min

Nearby

Special Weather Statements in Alabama, 2011 Every 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.