Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2019

Tornado Watch 29

March 14, 201919 counties in Alabama; 8 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 14, 2019, 6:41 PM CDT for 19 counties in Alabama; 8 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 14, 2019, 6:41 PM CDT (23:41 UTC)
Expired
Mar 15, 2019, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 27 counties

Autauga County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Cherokee County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Etowah County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Perry County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Bartow County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Floyd County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Heard County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Polk County, GA

The radar

The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:39 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 SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
30%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
20%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
20%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
10%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
50%

Warnings issued inside it

18 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 14, 6:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne29 min
Mar 14, 6:50 PM CDTTornado Warning Tornado observedBMXBibb, Chilton40 min
Mar 14, 7:02 PM CDTTornado WarningFFCFloyd, Polk25 min
Mar 14, 7:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHaralson, Polk33 min
Mar 14, 7:15 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDallas, Marengo, Perry60 min
Mar 14, 7:22 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXChilton34 min
Mar 14, 7:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHaralson, Paulding, Polk33 min
Mar 14, 7:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBartow, Cherokee, Gordon38 min
Mar 14, 7:42 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCoosa48 min
Mar 14, 7:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Paulding, Polk39 min
Mar 14, 8:21 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXClay, Coosa, Tallapoosa39 min
Mar 14, 8:39 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXAutauga51 min
Mar 14, 8:52 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXClay15 min
Mar 14, 9:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore55 min
Mar 14, 9:35 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXElmore25 min
Mar 14, 9:40 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXRandolph50 min
Mar 14, 10:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCarroll, Heard41 min
Mar 14, 11:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCoweta, Heard, Meriwether, Troup34 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 99 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 2019-03-14Temperature 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 2019-03-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 522 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
822 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
522 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
618 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

434 
WWUS20 KWNS 142338
SEL9  
SPC WW 142338
ALZ000-GAZ000-150500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 29
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
640 PM CDT Thu Mar 14 2019

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Central and Eastern Alabama
  Northwest Georgia

* Effective this Thursday night from 640 PM until Midnight CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A couple tornadoes possible
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

SUMMARY...Environment will remain conducive for supercells and the
possibility of a couple of tornadoes, along with isolated large hail
and damaging winds, through at least mid-evening if not
late-evening, particularly across central/eastern Alabama into
northwest Georgia.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles
east and west of a line from 65 miles east northeast of Gadsden AL
to 25 miles southwest of Selma AL. For a complete depiction of the
watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
and possible warnings.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 25...WW 27...WW 28...

AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean
storm motion vector 25030.

...Guyer

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 14, 10:32 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence and 1 more58 min
Mar 14, 11:47 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Jefferson and 12 more88 min
Mar 14, 12:11 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Colbert and 25 more7 hr
Mar 14, 1:01 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCFayette, Lamar, Marion59 min
Mar 14, 2:58 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Lamar and 10 more92 min
Mar 14, 5:39 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton and 22 more96 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2019Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2019Every tornado watch in 2019

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.