Alert archive / Alabama / Special Weather Statements in 2012

Special Weather Statement, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 31, 2012Lowndes County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this special weather statement at May 31, 2012, 3:43 PM CDT for Lowndes County, Alabama. It was in force for 47 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 31, 2012, 3:43 PM CDT (20:43 UTC)
Expired: May 31, 2012, 4:30 PM CDT
In force: 47 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL

County Lowndes County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 101 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: 12 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -234 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1911 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 122 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 31, 1:12 PM CDT, 2 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 1:12 PM CDT, 2 hours 31 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, May 31, 1:56 PM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
156 PM CDT THU MAY 31 2012

ALZ011>015-017>050-011900-
AUTAUGA-BARBOUR-BIBB-BLOUNT-BULLOCK-CALHOUN-CHAMBERS-CHEROKEE-
CHILTON-CLAY-CLEBURNE-COOSA-DALLAS-ELMORE-ETOWAH-FAYETTE-GREENE-HALE-
JEFFERSON-LAMAR-LEE-LOWNDES-MACON-MARENGO-MARION-MONTGOMERY-PERRY-
PICKENS-PIKE-RANDOLPH-RUSSELL-SHELBY-ST CLAIR-SUMTER-TALLADEGA-
TALLAPOOSA-TUSCALOOSA-WALKER-WINSTON-
156 PM CDT THU MAY 31 2012

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 THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS ALL OF
CENTRAL ALABAMA. ANY STORM THAT DEVELOPS WILL POSE A THREAT OF
DAMAGING STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT COULD AFFECT WESTERN
COUNTIES AS EARLY AS 4 PM AND LAST UNTIL MIDNIGHT. THIS ACTIVITY WILL
SPREAD EASTWARD OVERNIGHT...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS LASTING THROUGH 6 AM FRIDAY MORNING. THE GREATEST
SEVERE STORM THREAT EXISTS WEST OF A LINE FROM UNIONTOWN...TO
ALABASTER...TO ONEONTA. THE PRIMARY THREAT IS DAMAGING STRAIGHT-
LINE WINDS...WITH A SECONDARY THREAT OF LARGE HAIL AND LOCALLY
HEAVY RAINFALL. THE THREAT OF TORNADOES IS VERY LOW. SOME
WEAKENING OF STORMS IS EXPECTED AFTER MIDNIGHT...BUT ISOLATED
SEVERE STORMS ARE STILL POSSIBLE

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY THROUGH 6 PM
GENERALLY FOR AREAS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20. THE GREATEST SEVERE
STORM THREAT EXISTS ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM MONTGOMERY TO
ROANOKE. THE PRIMARY THREAT IS DAMAGING STRAIGHT-LINE
WINDS...WITH A SECONDARY THREAT OF LARGE HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL. THE THREAT OF TORNADOES IS VERY LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IS NECESSARY
THIS AFTERNOON INTO FRIDAY.

75

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 31, 3:43 PM CDT, 0 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
343 PM CDT THU MAY 31 2012

ALZ042-044-312130-
LOWNDES AL-MONTGOMERY AL-
343 PM CDT THU MAY 31 2012

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN MONTGOMERY AND
NORTHEASTERN LOWNDES COUNTIES UNTIL 430 PM CDT...

AT 341 PM CDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WAS TRACKING A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM NEAR LOWNDESBORO...OR NEAR HAYNEVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 25 MPH.

HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF PENNIES AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE
EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM...ALONG WITH FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  MONTGOMERY...
  LOWNDESBORO...
  CANTELOUS...
  DANNELLY FIELD...
  HOPE HULL...

THIS STORM MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND
TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS... FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

&&

LAT...LON 3210 8668 3234 8668 3237 8655 3234 8653
      3234 8650 3236 8649 3238 8646 3239 8646
      3242 8632 3223 8616
TIME...MOT...LOC 2043Z 236DEG 21KT 3224 8659

61

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 31, 3:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lowndes, Montgomery	41 min
May 31, 4:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Elmore, Montgomery	41 min
May 31, 4:44 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Elmore	61 min
May 31, 6:02 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Lamar, Marion, Pickens	43 min
May 31, 6:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Sumter	49 min
May 31, 6:35 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Marengo	55 min
May 31, 6:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene	40 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.