Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2023

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 261, NWS Huntsville, AL

December 9, 2023Colbert County, Franklin County, Alabama

NWS Huntsville, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Dec 9, 2023, 6:38 PM CST for Colbert County, Franklin County, Alabama. It was in force for 37 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: Dec 9, 2023, 6:38 PM CST (00:38 UTC)
Expired: Dec 9, 2023, 7:15 PM CST
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Huntsville, AL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Hail: 1.0 in
Wind: 60.0 mph

Counties Colbert County, AL, Franklin County, AL

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 88 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:42 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
Dec 9, 3:20 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 182 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: 821 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 911 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 144 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 211 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.6
Supercell composite: 3.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Dec 9, 6:25 PM CST, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 9, 6:25 PM CST, 13 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 9, 5:11 PM CST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 9, 5:40 PM CST, 58 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 9, 6:13 PM CST, 25 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Dec 9, 6:35 PM CST, 3 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 9, 6:13 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Colbert	47 min
Dec 9, 6:28 PM CST	Tornado Warning	HUN	Lauderdale	32 min
Dec 9, 6:35 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Colbert	40 min
Dec 9, 6:42 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Colbert, Lauderdale	33 min
Dec 9, 7:07 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	HUN	Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone	23 min
Dec 9, 7:18 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Lawrence	42 min
Dec 9, 7:22 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Franklin	38 min
Dec 9, 8:33 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Lawrence	42 min
Dec 9, 8:42 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Morgan	48 min
Dec 9, 9:05 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Madison	40 min
Dec 9, 9:08 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Madison	52 min
Dec 9, 9:11 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Morgan	49 min
Dec 9, 9:58 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Cullman, Jackson	32 min
Dec 9, 10:25 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Cullman, Jackson, Marshall	50 min
Dec 9, 10:37 PM CST	Areal Flood Warning	HUN	Jackson, Marshall	3 hr
Dec 9, 10:52 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	HUN	DeKalb, Jackson	105 min
Dec 9, 7:20 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Lincoln	40 min
Dec 9, 7:57 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Lincoln, Moore	33 min
Dec 9, 8:30 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	HUN	Lincoln, Moore	45 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 2023 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2023

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.