Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 20, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 26, 2011Calhoun County, Etowah County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 26, 2011, 3:15 PM CDT for Calhoun County, Etowah County, Alabama. It was in force for 30 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Mar 26, 2011, 3:15 PM CDT (20:15 UTC)
Expired: Mar 26, 2011, 3:45 PM CDT
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Calhoun County, AL, Etowah County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 111 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:17 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Mar 26, 3:30 PM CDT	HAIL 1	5 E Markton, AL
Mar 26, 3:42 PM CDT	HAIL 0.75	1 Sw Jacksonville, AL

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Mar 26, 12:15 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 111 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: 54 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -256 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 809 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 147 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 185 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

333 
WFUS54 KBMX 262015
TORBMX
ALC015-055-262045-
/O.NEW.KBMX.TO.W.0020.110326T2015Z-110326T2045Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
315 PM CDT SAT MAR 26 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CALHOUN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA...
  SOUTHEASTERN ETOWAH COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 345 PM CDT

* AT 312 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM
  WAS LOCATED 6 MILES WEST OF MARKTON...AND MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  MARKTON...JACKSONVILLE...GLENCOE...SOUTHSIDE...COBB CITY AND
  REAVES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

HEAVY RAINFALL MAY OBSCURE THIS TORNADO. DO NOT WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR
THE TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW.

&&

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

LAT...LON 3401 8576 3379 8570 3383 8605 3387 8607
      3386 8609 3390 8612 3394 8611
TIME...MOT...LOC 2015Z 263DEG 35KT 3387 8608

$$

61

1 follow-up statement

485 
WWUS54 KBMX 262028 RRA
SVSBMX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
328 PM CDT SAT MAR 26 2011

ALC015-055-262045-
/O.CON.KBMX.TO.W.0020.000000T0000Z-110326T2045Z/
CALHOUN AL-ETOWAH AL-
328 PM CDT SAT MAR 26 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEASTERN ETOWAH AND
NORTHERN CALHOUN COUNTIES UNTIL 345 PM CDT...

AT 324 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.  THIS DANGEROUS
STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR MARKTON...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  JACKSONVILLE AND REAVES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

HEAVY RAINFALL MAY OBSCURE THIS TORNADO. DO NOT WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR
THE TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW.

&&

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

LAT...LON 3383 8598 3391 8601 3396 8592 3401 8576
      3379 8570
TIME...MOT...LOC 2028Z 266DEG 31KT 3385 8590

$$

61

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 26, 3:49 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Marion	41 min
Mar 26, 4:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marion	51 min
Mar 26, 4:48 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Marion, Winston	117 min
Mar 26, 4:57 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marion, Winston	48 min
Mar 26, 6:22 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Marshall	23 min
Mar 26, 7:43 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Marion	47 min
Mar 26, 12:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Marengo, Sumter	52 min
Mar 26, 1:05 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Greene, Hale, Perry	55 min
Mar 26, 1:25 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Fayette, Walker	25 min
Mar 26, 1:36 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Dallas, Perry	39 min
Mar 26, 1:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chilton, Coosa	59 min
Mar 26, 2:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Clay, Coosa, Tallapoosa	58 min
Mar 26, 2:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Coosa, Tallapoosa	44 min
Mar 26, 2:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Autauga, Dallas, Elmore, Perry	41 min
Mar 26, 2:51 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	St. Clair	24 min
Mar 26, 2:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Etowah, St. Clair	31 min
Mar 26, 3:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chambers, Clay, Randolph, Tallapoosa	43 min
Mar 26, 3:07 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chambers, Tallapoosa	53 min
Mar 26, 3:11 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Autauga, Elmore	49 min
Mar 26, 3:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Barbour, Bullock, Lee, Macon, Russell	43 min
Mar 26, 3:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Bibb, Shelby	39 min
Mar 26, 3:38 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Calhoun, Cleburne	37 min
Mar 26, 3:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chambers	35 min
Mar 26, 3:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Elmore, Macon, Montgomery, Tallapoosa	45 min
Mar 26, 4:07 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chilton, Shelby	38 min
Mar 26, 4:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Macon	40 min
Mar 26, 4:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Coosa, Shelby, Talladega	16 min
Mar 26, 4:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Barbour, Russell	39 min
Mar 26, 4:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Bullock, Lee, Macon, Russell	51 min
Mar 26, 5:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Barbour	33 min
Mar 26, 5:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Bullock, Macon, Russell	63 min
Mar 26, 5:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Blount, Etowah	51 min
Mar 26, 6:21 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Russell	24 min
Mar 26, 6:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Etowah	35 min
Mar 26, 6:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lamar, Marion	61 min
Mar 26, 6:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar, Marion	25 min
Mar 26, 6:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cherokee, Etowah	45 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.