Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2023

Tornado Watch 104

April 1, 202325 counties in Alabama; 17 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 1, 2023, 3:19 AM CDT for 25 counties in Alabama; 17 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 1, 2023, 3:19 AM CDT (08:19 UTC)
Expired
Apr 1, 2023, 8:00 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 42 counties

Autauga County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Blount 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, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Bartow County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Catoosa County, GA, Chattooga County, GA, Cherokee County, GA, Dade County, GA, Fannin County, GA, Floyd County, GA, Gilmer County, GA, Gordon County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Murray County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Pickens County, GA, Polk County, GA, Walker County, GA, Whitfield County, GA

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:22 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
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
30%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
10%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 1, 4:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCatoosa, Dade, Walker46 min
Apr 1, 4:41 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattooga, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Walker, Whitfield23 min
Apr 1, 5:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCatoosa, Fannin, Murray, Whitfield19 min
Apr 1, 5:11 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun, Cherokee, Etowah49 min
Apr 1, 5:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBartow, Floyd, Polk45 min
Apr 1, 6:10 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBartow, Cherokee, Dawson, Forsyth, Pickens50 min
Apr 1, 6:33 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCherokee, Forsyth, Fulton28 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 00:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 66 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 00:00Z on 2023-04-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 169 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 2023-04-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 142 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
169 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1105 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
142 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
362 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 31, 11:20 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Cullman, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence and 5 more115 min
Mar 31, 11:59 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCColbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Fayette, Franklin, Jackson and 10 more6 hr
Apr 1, 1:13 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison and 3 more92 min
Apr 1, 3:46 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah and 9 more89 min
Apr 1, 6:18 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay and 14 more87 min
Apr 1, 11:55 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDale, Henry, Houston2 hr
Apr 1, 12:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCoffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston6 hr
Apr 1, 3:04 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHouston86 min
Apr 1, 4:31 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrooks, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Echols, Glynn and 4 more89 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2023Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2023Every tornado watch 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.