Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2020
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 47, NWS Huntsville, AL
NWS Huntsville, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 2020, 5:13 PM CDT for 6 counties in Alabama; Franklin County, Lincoln County, Moore County, Tennessee. It was in force for 32 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 3, 2020, 5:13 PM CDT (22:13 UTC)
- Expired
- May 3, 2020, 5:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 32 min
- Issued by
- NWS Huntsville, AL
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Hail
- 0.75 in
- Wind
- 60.0 mph
Counties Jackson County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL, Morgan County, AL, Franklin County, TN, Lincoln County, TN, Moore County, TN
The radar
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 3:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 4 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 141 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1582 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 201 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 208 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Huntsville, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 3, 2:21 PM CDT, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 3, 2:21 PM CDT, 2 hours 52 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Huntsville AL 221 PM CDT Sun May 3 2020 .NEAR TERM...(Now through Tonight) Issued at 215 PM CDT Sun May 3 2020 Currently, warm but quiet and benign conditions are in place as the surface ridge axis remains across the FL Panhandle and extends through south TX. With partly to mostly clear skies in the forecast through the evening, temps currently in the upper 70s to low 80s should have no issue pushing into the mid/upper 80s as highs over the next hour or so. For tonight, we continue to monitor the progression of a complex of storms over the Mid MS Valley. Current radar trends has this system generally moving to the ESE. The eastern extent of this complex will continue to tap into a favorable environment this afternoon north of the forecast area, but development on the southern flank will have a more difficult time getting going as it moves into a more capped environment from generally Central AR through our forecast area. In addition to only weak forcing along a cold front and a loss of heating, not expecting much activity tonight over the TN Valley other than an increase in rain chances after sunset with potentially a few storms. Forecast through tonight remains on track with the only significant change was to nudge up PoPs slightly. .SHORT TERM...(Monday through Tuesday Night) Issued at 215 PM CDT Sun May 3 2020 Any lingering precip from the previous night should be waning before sunrise as a weak cold front shifts south. Guidance looks to push the front south of I 565 but north of I 20 before stalling out. With the CWA adjacent to this boundary, models continue to show a destabilization trend heading into the late afternoon/evening hours tomorrow. The big question remains whether or not we can get any storms going tomorrow. Minimal upper level support will be available so any activity will have tap into some low level convergence areas, which could be enhanced with the surface boundary. So if some storms do get going late afternoon and into the evening, we could see some strong wind gusts and hail. Convective activity will wane as we move into the early morning hours of Tuesdays and temps drop into the mid 60s. After sunrise, another cold front will be quickly approaching the area from the west. Expect a similar story compared to Monday where the atmosphere will have plenty of instability to tap into (if able to overcome the cap) but limited forcing and marginal upper level support. Most forcing as it appears now will come from the front itself as it pushes in by late Tuesday afternoon. Main impacts from any strong storms would be gusty winds and hail. The front quickly moves south after sunset on Tuesday with a slow decrease in cloud cover through the night. Temps overnight will drop into the low/mid 50s. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday through Saturday) Issued at 215 PM CDT Sun May 3 2020 A cooler and drier pattern will be in the forecast Wed through Thurs in the wake of the previous day's cold front. Benign conditions and comfortable afternoon temps in the low 70s can be expected. We'll see the pattern start to shift by Friday as the next frontal system is progged to move from the Central Plains through the Ohio Valley by Friday. The attendant cold front will start to move into the SE US Friday morning. With a surge of moisture from the southwest ahead of the front, rain chances will increase by the late morning on Friday and linger until the front passes well south early Sat morning. Thunderstorm parameters with this system do not look conducive for any development, so will maintain shower wording in the forecast. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Monday afternoon) Issued at 1211 PM CDT Sun May 3 2020 VFR and a mostly clear sky will continue this afternoon with high pressure in control. Clouds will steadily increase and ceilings will lower after 00z as a cold front begins to approach the region from the north. Have added a PROB30 for MVFR conditions from widely scattered TSRA that could impact either site in a 06-12z window. However, think most of this activity will weaken as it moves into North Alabama. Expect low stratus early Monday morning, with MVFR conditions through the end of the period. && .HUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. TN...NONE. && NEAR TERM...Barron SHORT TERM...Barron LONG TERM...Barron AVIATION...AMP.24 For more information please visit our website at weather.gov/huntsville.
Hazardous weather outlook, May 3, 4:00 PM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Huntsville AL 400 PM CDT Sun May 3 2020 ALZ001>010-016-TNZ076-096-097-041100- Lauderdale-Colbert-Franklin AL-Lawrence-Limestone-Madison-Morgan- Marshall-Jackson-DeKalb-Cullman-Moore-Lincoln-Franklin TN- 400 PM CDT Sun May 3 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north Alabama and portions of southern middle Tennessee. .DAY ONE...Tonight... A fast moving line of strong to severe thunderstorms will move east- southeast through southern middle Tennessee and far north Alabama early this evening. Damaging winds are likely with this line of thunderstorms, along with possible hail and frequent lightning. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for these locations until 8 PM CDT. A few additional thunderstorms are possible later tonight along a cold front dropping south through the area. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday... Additional isolated to scattered thunderstorms will be possible on Monday afternoon and evening near a stalled front over the region. A few storms could be strong to marginally severe. The strongest storms could produce wind gusts up to 60 mph and large hail. Additional isolated to scattered thunderstorms are possible on Tuesday and Tuesday night, as another weak front moves into the region. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Activation of storm spotters and emergency management personnel is ongoing.
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 3, 5:07 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, May 3, 5:12 PM CDT, 1 minute before
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</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Huntsville, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 4:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Morgan | 45 min |
| May 3, 5:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | DeKalb, Jackson, Madison | 49 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2020Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Tennessee, 2020Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2020
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.