Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 156, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 16, 2011Jefferson County, St. Clair County, Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 16, 2011, 9:31 AM CST for Jefferson County, St. Clair County, Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 29 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: Nov 16, 2011, 9:31 AM CST (15:31 UTC)
Expired: Nov 16, 2011, 10:00 AM CST
In force: 29 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Jefferson County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:33 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
Nov 16, 2:20 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 52 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: 990 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 497 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 133 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 197 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.0
Supercell composite: 3.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

326 
WFUS54 KBMX 161531
TORBMX
ALC073-115-117-161600-
/O.NEW.KBMX.TO.W.0156.111116T1531Z-111116T1600Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
931 AM CST WED NOV 16 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EAST CENTRAL JEFFERSON COUNTY IN ALABAMA...
  SOUTHWESTERN ST. CLAIR COUNTY IN ALABAMA...
  NORTHEASTERN SHELBY COUNTY IN ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 1000 AM CST

* AT 931 AM CST...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM
  WAS LOCATED NEAR GREYSTONE...OR 6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF IRONDALE...AND
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  LEEDS...MOODY...ODENVILLE...BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK...VANDIVER...
  BALD ROCK...BRANCHVILLE...CAMP WINNATASAKA...PLEASANT GROVE AND
  CHULA VISTA.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW. FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING.

&&

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...
CALL 1-800-856-0758.

LAT...LON 3371 8637 3350 8630 3342 8667 3352 8668
TIME...MOT...LOC 1531Z 242DEG 36KT 3349 8662

$$

19

1 follow-up statement

282 
WWUS54 KBMX 161548
SVSBMX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
948 AM CST WED NOV 16 2011

ALC073-161558-
/O.CAN.KBMX.TO.W.0156.000000T0000Z-111116T1600Z/
JEFFERSON AL-
948 AM CST WED NOV 16 2011

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

THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS MOVED OUT OF THE WARNED 
AREA.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...CALL 1-800-856-0758.

LAT...LON 3362 8635 3350 8630 3348 8653 3352 8653
      3352 8652 3355 8652 3355 8653 3361 8653
      3371 8637
TIME...MOT...LOC 1548Z 242DEG 40KT 3358 8642

$$

ALC115-117-161600-
/O.CON.KBMX.TO.W.0156.000000T0000Z-111116T1600Z/
ST. CLAIR AL-SHELBY AL-
948 AM CST WED NOV 16 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR EXTREME NORTHEASTERN
SHELBY AND SOUTHWESTERN ST. CLAIR COUNTIES UNTIL 1000 AM CST...

AT 948 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.  THIS DANGEROUS
STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR MOODY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  ODENVILLE...BRANCHVILLE AND CHULA VISTA.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF IN A MOBILE HOME...A VEHICLE OR
OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...CALL 1-800-856-0758.

LAT...LON 3362 8635 3350 8630 3348 8653 3352 8653
      3352 8652 3355 8652 3355 8653 3361 8653
      3371 8637
TIME...MOT...LOC 1548Z 242DEG 40KT 3358 8642

$$

19

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 16, 2:42 AM CST	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Pickens	48 min
Nov 16, 2:59 AM CST	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Fayette	46 min
Nov 16, 3:32 AM CST	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Walker	43 min
Nov 16, 5:44 AM CST	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Sumter	46 min
Nov 16, 6:34 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Marengo, Sumter	56 min
Nov 16, 7:57 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Hale, Marengo, Perry	48 min
Nov 16, 8:35 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Perry	40 min
Nov 16, 9:08 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chilton, Dallas, Perry	37 min
Nov 16, 9:46 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chilton, Coosa	44 min
Nov 16, 9:56 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Calhoun, St. Clair, Talladega	34 min
Nov 16, 10:20 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Autauga, Dallas, Elmore, Lowndes, Montgomery	40 min
Nov 16, 10:25 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Calhoun	35 min
Nov 16, 10:36 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Lowndes, Montgomery	24 min
Nov 16, 10:56 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne	34 min
Nov 16, 10:58 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Lowndes, Montgomery	32 min
Nov 16, 10:59 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Elmore, Montgomery	31 min
Nov 16, 11:21 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Elmore, Macon, Montgomery, Tallapoosa	39 min
Nov 16, 11:40 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Bullock, Macon, Montgomery	23 min
Nov 16, 11:48 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chambers, Lee, Macon	42 min
Nov 16, 12:18 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chambers, Lee	27 min
Nov 16, 12:25 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Bullock, Macon, Russell	25 min
Nov 16, 1:34 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Barbour	41 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2011 Every tornado warning in 2011 Tornadoes 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.