Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 2018

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 19, 2018St. Clair County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 19, 2018, 8:33 PM CDT for St. Clair County, Alabama. It was in force for 42 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 19, 2018, 8:33 PM CDT (01:33 UTC)
Expired: Mar 19, 2018, 9:15 PM CDT
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 0.75 in

County St. Clair County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:33 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 19, 3:28 PM CDT	Tornado Watch PDS	SPC	9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 95 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: 1154 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -50 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1046 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 334 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 409 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.6
Supercell composite: 17.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

955 
WFUS54 KBMX 200133
TORBMX
ALC115-200215-
/O.NEW.KBMX.TO.W.0005.180320T0133Z-180320T0215Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
833 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2018

The National Weather Service in Birmingham has issued a

* Tornado Warning for...
  Northeastern St. Clair County in central Alabama...

* Until 915 PM CDT
    
* At 833 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
  was located over Ashville, or 10 miles east of Springville, moving
  east at 40 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. 

* Locations impacted include...
  Ashville, Ragland, Neely Henry Lake, Neely Henry Dam and I 59 Rest
  Areas At Oneonta.

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 3390 8611 3386 8610 3386 8606 3385 8605
      3384 8607 3382 8605 3381 8607 3377 8604
      3376 8607 3375 8608 3376 8634 3386 8636
TIME...MOT...LOC 0133Z 269DEG 33KT 3382 8630 

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

$$

87/GRANTHAM

2 follow-up statements

972 
WWUS54 KBMX 200144
SVSBMX

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
844 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2018

ALC115-200215-
/O.CON.KBMX.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-180320T0215Z/
St. Clair AL-
844 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2018

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 915 PM CDT FOR
NORTHEASTERN ST. CLAIR COUNTY...
    
At 844 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located near Ragland, or 12 miles southwest of Rainbow City,
moving east at 40 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. 

Locations impacted include...
Ashville, Ragland, Neely Henry Lake and Neely Henry Dam. 

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 3376 8628 3387 8629 3390 8611 3386 8610
      3386 8606 3385 8605 3384 8607 3382 8605
      3381 8607 3377 8604 3376 8607 3375 8608
TIME...MOT...LOC 0144Z 271DEG 33KT 3381 8617 

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

$$

87/GRANTHAM

202 
WWUS54 KBMX 200207
SVSBMX

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Birmingham AL
907 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2018

ALC115-200217-
/O.EXP.KBMX.TO.W.0005.000000T0000Z-180320T0215Z/
St. Clair AL-
907 PM CDT MON MAR 19 2018

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN ST. CLAIR COUNTY WILL EXPIRE
AT 915 PM CDT...
        
The storm which prompted the warning has moved out of the area.
Therefore the warning will be allowed to expire.

A tornado watch remains in effect until 1100 PM CDT for central,
northeastern and east central Alabama.

LAT...LON 3376 8628 3387 8629 3390 8611 3386 8610
      3386 8606 3385 8605 3384 8607 3382 8605
      3381 8607 3377 8604 3376 8607 3375 8608
TIME...MOT...LOC 0207Z 269DEG 33KT 3381 8593 

$$

87/GRANTHAM

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 19, 7:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Blount	42 min
Mar 19, 7:18 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Blount	31 min
Mar 19, 7:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Etowah	61 min
Mar 19, 7:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Blount, St. Clair	34 min
Mar 19, 7:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Etowah	62 min
Mar 19, 7:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Blount	56 min
Mar 19, 8:02 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Cherokee	58 min
Mar 19, 8:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Calhoun	66 min
Mar 19, 8:15 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Calhoun, Etowah	45 min
Mar 19, 8:38 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Cleburne	46 min
Mar 19, 8:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Calhoun	42 min
Mar 19, 9:05 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Calhoun	21 min
Mar 19, 9:24 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Blount, Calhoun, Etowah, St. Clair	6 hr
Mar 19, 9:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Calhoun, Cleburne	34 min
Mar 19, 9:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Calhoun, St. Clair, Talladega	59 min
Mar 19, 10:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cleburne	40 min
Mar 19, 11:01 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	BMX	Calhoun, Cleburne, Talladega	3 hr
Mar 20, 3:06 AM CDT	Wind Advisory	BMX	Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun and 33 more	19 hr
Mar 20, 5:33 AM CDT	Dense Fog Advisory	BMX	Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Etowah and 3 more	3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 2018 Every tornado warning in 2018 Tornadoes in 2018

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.