Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2016

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Huntsville, AL

March 31, 2016Madison County, Alabama

NWS Huntsville, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 31, 2016, 9:35 PM CDT for Madison County, Alabama. It was in force for 12 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: Mar 31, 2016, 9:35 PM CDT (02:35 UTC)
Expired: Mar 31, 2016, 9:47 PM CDT
In force: 12 min
Issued by: NWS Huntsville, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 0.75 in

County Madison County, AL

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:35 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
Mar 31, 5:58 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 162 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: 217 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -157 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 861 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 488 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 602 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

579 
WFUS54 KHUN 010235
TORHUN
ALC089-010300-
/O.NEW.KHUN.TO.W.0008.160401T0235Z-160401T0300Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
935 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2016

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL MADISON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA...

* UNTIL 1000 PM CDT
    
* AT 933 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO
  WAS LOCATED OVER MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER...OR NEAR REDSTONE
  ARSENAL...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

  HAZARD...TORNADO. 

  SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION. AT ABOUT 905 PM...DAMAGE WAS
           REPORTED IN CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PORTIONS OF MORGAN
           COUNTY...NEAR THE PRICEVILLE AND HARTSELLE AREAS. THIS
           STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING TORNADOES.            

  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. 

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  HUNTSVILLE...MADISON...REDSTONE ARSENAL...MOORES MILL...MARSHALL SPACE
  FLIGHT CENTER...ALABAMA A AND M UNIVERSITY...UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN
  HUNTSVILLE AND HAMPTON COVE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TORNADOES ARE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO SEE AND CONFIRM AT NIGHT. DO NOT
WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW!

&&

LAT...LON 3484 8654 3466 8641 3460 8665 3459 8668
      3459 8671 3460 8672 3465 8676
TIME...MOT...LOC 0233Z 235DEG 25KT 3464 8668 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...<.75IN

$$

KDW

1 follow-up statement

634 
WWUS54 KHUN 010247
SVSHUN

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
947 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2016

ALC089-010256-
/O.CAN.KHUN.TO.W.0008.000000T0000Z-160401T0300Z/
MADISON AL-
947 PM CDT THU MAR 31 2016

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR CENTRAL MADISON COUNTY IS CANCELLED...
                
THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS WEAKENED BELOW SEVERE
LIMITS...AND NO LONGER APPEARS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.
THEREFORE THE WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.  HOWEVER GUSTY WINDS AND
HEAVY RAIN ARE STILL POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 AM CDT FOR NORTHERN
ALABAMA...AND CENTRAL TENNESSEE.

LAT...LON 3484 8654 3466 8641 3460 8665 3459 8668
      3459 8671 3460 8672 3465 8676
TIME...MOT...LOC 0245Z 235DEG 25KT 3469 8659 

$$

KDW

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 31, 7:08 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Franklin	52 min
Mar 31, 7:17 PM CDT	Tornado Warning Tornado observed	HUN	Madison	28 min
Mar 31, 7:22 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Lawrence	23 min
Mar 31, 7:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Limestone	30 min
Mar 31, 7:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Lawrence	29 min
Mar 31, 7:50 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Franklin	25 min
Mar 31, 7:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan	23 min
Mar 31, 7:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Colbert, Lauderdale	13 min
Mar 31, 8:25 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Morgan	35 min
Mar 31, 8:35 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Lawrence, Morgan	25 min
Mar 31, 8:38 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Marshall	37 min
Mar 31, 8:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Limestone, Madison, Morgan	35 min
Mar 31, 9:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	HUN	Madison	23 min
Mar 31, 9:31 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Limestone	29 min
Mar 31, 10:25 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Jackson	35 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2016 Every tornado warning in 2016 Tornadoes in 2016

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.