Alert archive / Alabama / Special Weather Statements in 2012

Special Weather Statement, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 22, 2012Dallas County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this special weather statement at May 22, 2012, 2:39 AM CDT for Dallas County, Alabama. It was in force for 51 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: May 22, 2012, 2:39 AM CDT (07:39 UTC)
Expired: May 22, 2012, 3:30 AM CDT
In force: 51 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL

County Dallas County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:41 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 00:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 88 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: 174 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1734 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 12 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 May 21, 11:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 11:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 49 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1150 PM CDT MON MAY 21 2012

.UPDATE...
FOR 06Z AVIATION.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

I'D LIKE TO SAY WE ARE OUT OF THE WOODS FOR THE REST OF THE
EVENING...BUT I JUST DON'T THINK THAT'S THE CASE.  AFTER GOING OVER
SOME OF THE MESOSCALE PARAMETERS HERE'S THE SKINNY FOR THE REST OF
THE EVENING...

THE FRONT IS STILL WELL BACK OVER CENTRAL ARKANSAS.  THIS IS EVIDENT
IN THE 850MB TEMPERATURES.  THE REASON WE ARE NOT SEEING MORE
COVERAGE OF CONVECTION IS BECAUSE THE UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT IS WELL
OUT AHEAD OF THE FRONT...BASICALLY OVER US OR JUST TO THE EAST OF
US.  THIS IS HELPING TO SPARK WHAT DEVELOPMENT WE ARE SEEING OVER NE
MS AND NORTHERN ALABAMA.  THE ACTIVITY OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
MISSISSIPPI IS BEING HELPED BY A MID-LEVEL WAVE...WHICH COULD ALSO
HELP TO SPARK MORE ACTIVITY FOR US THROUGH THE MIDNIGHT HOUR...
ESPECIALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 20.  I WOULD NOT BE
SURPRISED TO SEE SOME STRONG STORMS WITH PEA TO PENNY SIZED HAIL
OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS AS THE MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE PRETTY
STEEP...AND THE 500MB TEMPERATURES OVER NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI...WHICH
WILL ADVECT INTO ALABAMA OVERNIGHT...ARE -15C.  OUTFLOWS COULD
BECOME OUR WORST ENEMY THOUGH...AS TYPICALLY THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR STORMS THAT BECOME SEVERE IN THESE ENVIRONMENTS OF LITTLE
SYNOPTIC FORCING.  WE WILL HAVE TO SCOUR THE AREA FOR THESE TONIGHT.

SO LOOK FOR ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO
CONTINUE THROUGH AT LEAST MIDNIGHT...AND MAYBE LATER...WITH A FEW OF
THEM BECOMING STRONG.

I HAVE ADDED IN SOME PATCHY FOG TOO AS THERE WERE QUITE A FEW AREAS
THAT SAW RAIN TODAY.  SATURATED GROUNDS AND FROPA WILL LEAD TO
FOG...ESPECIALLY WITH LIGHT BOUNDARY WINDS TO CALM SURFACE WINDS...
WHICH WE SHOULD SEE.

27

&&

.AVIATION...
06Z TAF DISCUSSION.

VFR TO MVFR CONDITIONS AT ISSUANCE.  A CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING IN FROM THE NORTHWEST HAS CHANGED THINGS UP SLIGHTLY...AND I
HAVE ADDED THESE IN FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS AT OUR NORTHERN SITES.
THEY WILL LIKELY BRING MVFR VIS WITH SOME OF THE HEAVIER RAINFALL.

NOT SURE HOW TO HANDLE THE THUNDERSTORMS FOR KMGM AND KTOI AS THEY
MAY FALL APART OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.  WILL AMEND AS NECESSARY.

HAVE KEPT IN THE FOG WORDING FOR EARLY MORNING HOURS.  STILL DEALING
WITH A SIMILAR SET UP AS I SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER...WITH THE SATURATED
GROUNDS AND FRONTAL PASSAGE.  THIS SHOULD LOWER VIS/CIG FOR A COUPLE
OF HOURS INTO THE DAYLIGHT...RETURNING TO VFR BY 15-16Z.

SIMILAR SET UP FOR TOMORROW...ESPECIALLY FOR KMGM...KTOI AND KANB.

27

&&

.BMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.

&&

27

Hazardous weather outlook, May 22, 2:00 AM CDT, 39 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, May 22, 2:14 AM CDT, 25 minutes before

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Local storm report, May 22, 2:18 AM CDT, 21 minutes before

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Local storm report, May 22, 2:24 AM CDT, 15 minutes before

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Local storm report, May 22, 2:29 AM CDT, 10 minutes before

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Local storm report, May 22, 2:31 AM CDT, 8 minutes before

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Special weather statement, May 22, 2:39 AM CDT, 0 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 21, 8:55 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Marion	50 min
May 21, 9:42 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Marion	48 min
May 21, 10:26 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Lamar, Marion	49 min
May 21, 10:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Fayette, Lamar	30 min
May 21, 11:11 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Fayette, Lamar, Pickens	49 min
May 21, 11:15 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Walker	45 min
May 21, 11:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Fayette, Tuscaloosa	28 min
May 21, 11:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	36 min
May 21, 11:52 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Pickens, Tuscaloosa	38 min
May 22, 12:10 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Walker	50 min
May 22, 12:14 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Walker	46 min
May 22, 12:24 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Pickens	66 min
May 22, 12:40 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson	40 min
May 22, 12:52 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Tuscaloosa	38 min
May 22, 1:07 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Tuscaloosa	26 min
May 22, 1:13 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Shelby	47 min
May 22, 1:32 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Hale	43 min
May 22, 1:45 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Chilton	45 min
May 22, 1:59 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Perry	31 min
May 22, 5:41 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Barbour	49 min

Nearby

Special Weather Statements in Alabama, 2012 Every special weather statement in 2012

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.