Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 36, NWS Tallahassee, FL

November 18, 2015Geneva County, Alabama

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Nov 18, 2015, 12:49 PM CST for Geneva County, Alabama. It was in force for 26 min. 1 report 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: Nov 18, 2015, 12:49 PM CST (18:49 UTC)
Expired: Nov 18, 2015, 1:15 PM CST
In force: 26 min
Issued by: NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 0.0 in

County Geneva County, AL

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:49 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
Nov 18, 1:11 PM CST	FUNNEL CLOUD	Samson, AL	SEVERAL SIGHTINGS OF A FUNNEL CLOUD NEAR SAMSON.

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
Nov 18, 8:25 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 191 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: 5 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -62 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 674 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 219 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 261 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.

721 
WFUS52 KTAE 181849
TORTAE
ALC061-181915-
/O.NEW.KTAE.TO.W.0036.151118T1849Z-151118T1915Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
1249 PM CST WED NOV 18 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN GENEVA COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 115 PM CST
    
* AT 1248 PM CST...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SAMSON...OR 11 MILES EAST
  OF FLORALA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

  HAZARD...TORNADO. 

  SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION. 

  IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT 
           SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. 
           DAMAGE TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR.  TREE 
           DAMAGE IS LIKELY. 

* THIS DANGEROUS STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  SAMSON AROUND 100 PM CST.

OTHER LOCATIONS IMPACTED BY THIS TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM INCLUDE
MARL...WEEKS...LOGAN FIELD MUNICIPAL A/P...PINEY GROVE...PERA...
COFFEE SPRINGS...EARLYTOWN...SPEARS...SELLERSVILLE AND GANER.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...IN A
MOBILE HOME...OR IN A VEHICLE...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL
SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 3119 8619 3119 8613 3118 8613 3118 8612
      3119 8611 3119 8589 3099 8604 3099 8612
      3100 8619
TIME...MOT...LOC 1848Z 211DEG 26KT 3104 8613 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...0.00IN

$$

38-GODSEY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 18, 11:26 AM CST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Coffee	49 min
Nov 18, 1:01 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Coffee	44 min
Nov 18, 2:01 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Dale	44 min
Nov 18, 3:45 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Dale, Henry	45 min
Nov 18, 4:36 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	TAE	Houston	54 min

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.