Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Birmingham, AL

January 3, 2015Sumter County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Jan 3, 2015, 4:02 PM CST for Sumter County, Alabama. It was in force for 11 min. 3 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: Jan 3, 2015, 4:02 PM CST (22:02 UTC)
Expired: Jan 3, 2015, 4:13 PM CST
In force: 11 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Sumter County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 135 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:03 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
Jan 3, 4:04 PM CST	TSTM WND DMG	1 Sse Cuba, AL	DAMAGE TO AN OUTBUILDING AND TREES DOWN ON PRETTY BRANCH ROAD IN CUBA.
Jan 3, 4:06 PM CST	TSTM WND DMG	1 Sse Cuba, AL	DAMAGE TO AN OUTBUILDING AND TREES DOWN ON PRETTY BRANCH ROAD IN CUBA.
Jan 3, 4:06 PM CST	TORNADO 0	1 Sse Cuba, AL	AN EF0 TORNADO WITH WINDS OF 80MPH TOUCHED DOWN EAST OF CUBA AND TRACKED 0.67 MILES TO THE NORTHEAST ALONG THE NORFOLK SOUTHERN RR CAUSING MINOR TREE DAMAGE AND ROOF DAMAGE TO ONE HOME. PATH WIDTH 100 YDS.

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
Jan 3, 3:18 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 140 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: 471 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 266 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 377 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.

618 
WFUS54 KBMX 032202
TORBMX
ALC119-032245-
/O.NEW.KBMX.TO.W.0001.150103T2202Z-150103T2245Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
402 PM CST SAT JAN 3 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SUMTER COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 445 PM CST

* AT 400 PM CST...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS STORM
  WAS LOCATED NEAR CUBA...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  CUBA...YORK...LIVINGSTON...BOYD...THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST ALABAMA...
  BLUFFPORT...EPES...GAINESVILLE...OLD MALLARD AIRPORT AND
  PAYNEVILLE.

THIS INCLUDES...
INTERSTATE 20 EXIT NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 23...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW. FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING.

&&

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...
CALL 1-800-856-0758 OR TWEET YOUR REPORT USING HASHTAG ALWX

LAT...LON 3259 8840 3289 8819 3286 8816 3283 8818
      3283 8813 3280 8810 3280 8807 3278 8808
      3277 8811 3271 8808 3270 8812 3268 8809
      3269 8804 3265 8805 3263 8808 3260 8806
      3231 8839 3233 8842
TIME...MOT...LOC 2202Z 213DEG 48KT 3243 8838

$$

GRANTHAM

1 follow-up statement

240 
WWUS54 KBMX 032213
SVSBMX

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
413 PM CST SAT JAN 3 2015

ALC119-032223-
/O.CAN.KBMX.TO.W.0001.000000T0000Z-150103T2245Z/
SUMTER AL-
413 PM CST SAT JAN 3 2015

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SUMTER COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS WEAKENED BELOW SEVERE
LIMITS...AND NO LONGER POSES AN IMMEDIATE THREAT TO LIFE OR PROPERTY.

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

LAT...LON 3259 8840 3289 8819 3286 8816 3283 8818
      3283 8813 3280 8810 3280 8807 3278 8808
      3277 8811 3271 8808 3270 8812 3268 8809
      3269 8804 3265 8805 3263 8808 3260 8806
      3231 8839 3233 8842
TIME...MOT...LOC 2213Z 213DEG 48KT 3255 8828

$$

GRANTHAM

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 3, 3:42 AM CST	Flash Flood Watch	BMX	Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah and 14 more	24 hr
Jan 3, 3:56 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Pickens	32 min
Jan 3, 4:27 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Sumter	48 min
Jan 3, 4:34 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Greene, Pickens, Sumter	41 min
Jan 3, 4:44 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Lamar	46 min
Jan 3, 5:13 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Marion	47 min
Jan 3, 5:16 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Greene, Tuscaloosa	14 min
Jan 3, 5:29 PM CST	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Greene, Lamar, Pickens, Sumter	3 hr
Jan 3, 5:32 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	BMX	Lowndes	43 min
Jan 3, 5:39 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Winston	20 min
Jan 3, 5:49 PM CST	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Chilton, Coosa, Shelby, Talladega	3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2015 Every tornado warning in 2015 Tornadoes in 2015

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.