Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Mobile, AL

February 18, 2012Mobile County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 18, 2012, 4:21 PM CST for Mobile County, Alabama. It was in force for 24 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: Feb 18, 2012, 4:21 PM CST (22:21 UTC)
Expired: Feb 18, 2012, 4:45 PM CST
In force: 24 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Mobile County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:24 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
Feb 18, 11:49 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 152 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 449 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 160 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 177 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.

318 
WFUS54 KMOB 182221
TORMOB
ALC097-182245-
/O.NEW.KMOB.TO.W.0008.120218T2221Z-120218T2245Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
421 PM CST SAT FEB 18 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEAST MOBILE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 445 PM CST

* AT 421 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 4 MILES   
  NORTHEAST OF BAYOU LA BATRE...OR 5 MILES NORTH OF CODEN...MOVING
  EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  BELLE FONTAINE AROUND 435 PM CST...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MANUFACTURED HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

HEAVY RAINFALL MAY OBSCURE THIS TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW! IF YOU WAIT
TO SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 500 PM CST SATURDAY AFTERNOON
FOR SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST
MISSISSIPPI.

&&

LAT...LON 3041 8825 3049 8825 3054 8808 3053 8807
      3051 8809 3047 8809 3045 8810 3042 8809
      3039 8810
TIME...MOT...LOC 2221Z 271DEG 23KT 3046 8821

$$

JP/MB

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 18, 3:38 AM CST	Wind Advisory	MOB		38 hr
Feb 18, 1:56 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Mobile	49 min
Feb 18, 2:28 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Mobile, Washington	32 days
Feb 18, 3:13 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Conecuh, Escambia, Monroe	47 min
Feb 18, 3:28 PM CST	Gale Warning	MOB		21 hr
Feb 18, 3:37 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe and 1 more	113 min
Feb 18, 3:59 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Mobile	61 min
Feb 18, 4:01 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Conecuh, Covington, Escambia	44 min
Feb 18, 4:07 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		83 min
Feb 18, 4:19 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Mobile	116 min
Feb 18, 4:25 PM CST	Areal Flood Advisory	MOB	Choctaw, Clarke, Monroe, Washington, Wilcox	2 hr
Feb 18, 4:30 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Mobile, Washington	60 min
Feb 18, 4:38 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia	52 min
Feb 18, 4:52 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin	113 min
Feb 18, 4:59 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	76 min
Feb 18, 5:13 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Butler, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia	2 hr
Feb 18, 5:17 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Baldwin	28 min
Feb 18, 5:27 PM CST	Special Marine Warning	MOB		93 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2012 Every tornado warning in 2012 Tornadoes 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.