Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 94, NWS Mobile, AL

December 20, 2012Clarke County, Wilcox County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Dec 20, 2012, 7:25 AM CST for Clarke County, Wilcox County, Alabama. It was in force for 50 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
Dec 20, 2012, 7:25 AM CST (13:25 UTC)
Expired
Dec 20, 2012, 8:15 AM CST
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Clarke County, AL, Wilcox County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 144 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:24 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Dec 20, 4:23 AM CSTTornado WatchSPC9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 1.4 hours before the alert went out and 144 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2012-12-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2012-12-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 574 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
512 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
574 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
705 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

977 
WFUS54 KMOB 201325
TORMOB
ALC025-131-201415-
/O.NEW.KMOB.TO.W.0094.121220T1325Z-121220T1415Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
725 AM CST THU DEC 20 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WILCOX COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA...
  NORTHEASTERN CLARKE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 815 AM CST

* AT 723 AM CST...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED 6 MILES EAST OF THOMASVILLE...OR 5 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF PINE HILL...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  BOYKIN...             YELLOW BLUFF...       PINE HILL...
  CATHERINE...          CAMDEN...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST THURSDAY FOR
SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI.

&&

LAT...LON 3215 8726 3205 8717 3205 8703 3182 8744
      3183 8750 3181 8752 3178 8752 3176 8756
      3199 8778 3201 8763 3211 8763 3214 8759
      3214 8753 3219 8753 3227 8744
TIME...MOT...LOC 1326Z 226DEG 40KT 3196 8761

$$
1 follow-up statement
263 
WWUS54 KMOB 201358
SVSMOB

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
758 AM CST THU DEC 20 2012

ALC025-131-201415-
/O.CON.KMOB.TO.W.0094.000000T0000Z-121220T1415Z/
WILCOX AL-CLARKE AL-
758 AM CST THU DEC 20 2012

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 815 AM CST FOR
NORTHEASTERN CLARKE AND WILCOX COUNTIES...

AT 756 AM CST...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 
WAS LOCATED 6 MILES NORTH OF GROVE HILL...OR NEAR FULTON...MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

THE ORIGINAL STORM PROMPTING THE WARNING FOR WILCOX COUNTY HAS SINCE 
MOVED OUT OF THE COUNTY. HOWEVER THE STORM NEAR FULTON WILL MOVE 
INTO SOUTHWESTERN WILCOX COUNTY SOON. A TORNADO WARNING WILL REMAIN 
IN EFFECT AND MAY EXTENDED.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  BOYKIN...             YELLOW BLUFF...       PINE HILL...
  CATHERINE...          CAMDEN...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST THURSDAY FOR
SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI.

&&

LAT...LON 3215 8726 3205 8717 3205 8703 3182 8744
      3183 8750 3181 8752 3178 8752 3176 8756
      3199 8778 3201 8763 3211 8763 3214 8759
      3214 8753 3219 8753 3227 8744
TIME...MOT...LOC 1357Z 237DEG 39KT 3180 8773

$$

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 20, 2:51 AM CSTGale WarningMOB30 hr
Dec 20, 2:51 AM CSTSmall Craft AdvisoryMOB33 hr
Dec 20, 4:11 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBMobile64 min
Dec 20, 4:42 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBMobile36 min
Dec 20, 4:49 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBChoctaw30 min
Dec 20, 5:14 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBBaldwin46 min
Dec 20, 5:29 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBWashington46 min
Dec 20, 5:38 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBChoctaw, Clarke, Washington52 min
Dec 20, 5:45 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBBaldwin, Mobile39 min
Dec 20, 6:03 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBClarke28 min
Dec 20, 6:06 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBWashington22 min
Dec 20, 6:08 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBBaldwin21 min
Dec 20, 6:11 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBConecuh, Escambia, Monroe49 min
Dec 20, 6:39 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBConecuh, Monroe35 min
Dec 20, 6:40 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBWashington50 min
Dec 20, 6:56 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBBaldwin, Mobile34 min
Dec 20, 7:02 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBBaldwin, Mobile58 min
Dec 20, 7:06 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningMOB84 min
Dec 20, 7:18 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBClarke, Washington42 min
Dec 20, 7:19 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBConecuh, Escambia, Monroe56 min
Dec 20, 7:36 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBBaldwin, Clarke, Monroe42 min
Dec 20, 7:52 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBBaldwin53 min
Dec 20, 8:10 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBWilcox32 min
Dec 20, 8:14 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBConecuh, Monroe33 min
Dec 20, 8:15 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBChoctaw, Clarke17 min
Dec 20, 8:26 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningMOB94 min
Dec 20, 8:27 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBEscambia63 min
Dec 20, 8:29 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBEscambia46 min
Dec 20, 9:11 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBEscambia25 min
Dec 20, 9:25 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBCovington55 min
Dec 20, 9:28 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBWilcox15 min
Dec 20, 9:30 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningMOB60 min
Dec 20, 9:49 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBWilcox26 min
Dec 20, 9:50 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBCovington, Crenshaw16 min
Dec 20, 10:23 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningMOB82 min
Dec 20, 11:34 AM CSTSpecial Marine WarningMOB61 min
Dec 20, 2:19 PM CSTFire Weather WatchMOBButler, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia, Monroe and 1 more16 hr
Dec 20, 2:19 PM CSTRed Flag WarningMOBButler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw and 4 more27 hr

Nearby

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