Alabama, 2002

Damaging Wind in Alabama, December 23, 2002

December 23, 2002 · NWS MOB · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$5,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 23, 8:45 PM CST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 8:45 PM CST, 1 hour 55 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
845 PM CST MON DEC 23 2002

ZONES UPDATED TO REFLECT CURRENT WATCH. A LITTLE JUGGLING WITH
GROUPINGS...WITH REMOVAL OF TOWARDS MORNING WORDING BALDWIN/MOBILE
GROUPING.

16/MILLER

********************* PREVIOUS *******************
FORECAST STILL APPEARS ON TRACK...WITH WIDESPREAD RAIN AND
THUNDERSTORMS NOW MOVING INTO OUR WESTERN ZONES AHEAD OF FIRST
SHORTWAVE KICKING OUT.   FIRST BATCH OF ACTIVITY SHOULD MOVE THROUGH
THIS EVENING...AS COMPLEX OF STRONGER STORMS GETS GOING OVER TEXAS
AND LOUISIANA.  EXPECT MAIN SLUG OF STRONGER STORMS TO MOVE INTO OUR
SOUTHWESTERN ZONES AFTER MIDNIGHT AND TOWARD MORNING (AROUND 4
AM)...THEN SLOWLY PROGRESS EAST ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE MORNING
AND EARLY AFTERNOON.

AS FOR SEVERE WEATHER...MAIN THREAT STILL APPEARS TO BE BOWS AND
LEWPS IN SQUALL LINE ACTIVITY DURING THE MORNING AND EARLY
AFTERNOON.  ISOLATED LOW TOP SUPERCELLS DURING THE EARLY MORNING ARE
POSSIBLE AHEAD OF THE MAIN SQUALL LINE.  MEDIA...EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AND STORM SPOTTER OFFICIALS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR
POSSIBLE ACTIVATION IN SUPPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER OPERATIONS SOMETIME
AROUND 4 AM WEST OF I-65...EAST OF I-65 BY AROUND 9 AM.  TIMING
COULD STILL BE OFF A BIT...SO STAY TUNED FOR THE LATEST.  WE UPDATED
THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON.

THE FRONT SHOULD CLEAR THINGS OUT TO THE EAST IN THE EARLY EVENING
HOURS.  GRADUAL CLEARING IS EXPECTED FROM THE WEST THROUGH CHRISTMAS
MORNING.  WILL COOL IT DOWN BEHIND THE FRONT THURSDAY WITH MID 20S
WELL INLAND.  THE GFS IS STILL WANTING TO DRAG A SHORTWAVE ACROSS
THE COLD DOME LATE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY.  DEPTH OF MOISTURE AND LIFT
SUGGESTS MAINLY PERIODS OF BROKEN CLOUD COVER FOR OUR AREA
FRIDAY...WITH NO PRECIP.  WE WILL CLEAR THINGS OUT FOR THE WEEKEND.
AS SURFACE HIGH SLIDES EAST SATURDAY...A GRADUAL WARMUP IS EXPECTED
ON INTO SUNDAY...THEN ANOTHER WEAK SYSTEM APPROACHES/COMES ACROSS
MONDAY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN.

05/GARMON

PRELIMINARY CCF NUMBERS...
MOB TU 063/068 040/053 031 05++10
PNS TU 063/070 043/054 033 05++30
DTS TU 062/070 044/054 033 05++40
GZH TU 058/070 040/050 028 05++30
2R0 TU 056/066 035/048 027 05++10
61A TU 056/065 038/047 025 05++20

MOB...
AL...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY GMZ630-650-670.
FL...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY GMZ655-675.
MS...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 23, 1:50 PM CST, 8 hours 50 minutes before
ALZ051>064-FLZ001>006-MSZ067-075-076-078-079-240300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
150 PM CST MON DEC 23 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...
SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...AND THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE UP FROM
SOUTHERN LOUISIANA THIS AFTERNOON AND SPREAD NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS
THE AREA THROUGH THE EVENING.  INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND
INSTABILITIES BEHIND A NORTHWARD MOVING WARM FRONT COULD RESULT IN A
FEW STRONG STORMS TONIGHT...HOWEVER WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT
EXPECTED.  THE MAIN THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER OVERNIGHT IS EXPECTED TO
BE WEST OF THE REGION...MAINLY FOCUSED ALONG AND AHEAD OF A STRONG
COLD FRONT THAT PUSHES INTO SOUTH AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA SOMETIME
EARLY TUESDAY MORNING.

.SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT...

THE ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...STORM SPOTTERS
AND HAM RADIO OPERATORS IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE REQUIRED THROUGH
TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

TUESDAY...A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A STRONG COLD
FRONT WILL PUSH OUT OF SOUTH AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA AND INTO SOUTHEAST
MISSISSIPPI BY EARLY TUESDAY MORNING.  THIS LINE OF STORMS WILL PUSH
INTO SOUTHWEST ALABAMA BY LATE TUESDAY MORNING...THEN ACROSS SOUTH
CENTRAL ALABAMA AND THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE DURING THE
AFTERNOON.  THE LIKELIHOOD OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE GREATER WITH THE
STORMS THAT MOVE INTO THE REGION TUESDAY MORNING...MAINLY WEST OF
THE I-65 CORRIDOR.  THE MAIN WEATHER THREAT WILL BE ISOLATED
TORNADOES OUT AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING SQUALL LINE...THEN DAMAGING
WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH BOWING STORMS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE LINE OF
STORMS.  THE ACTIVATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL...STORM
SPOTTERS AND HAM RADIO OPERATORS MAY BE REQUIRED BEGINNING EARLY
TUESDAY MORNING.

TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...THE COLD FRONT AND ASSOCIATED SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL PUSH WELL EAST OF THE REGION BY EARLY TUESDAY
EVENING.  DRIER AND COOLER CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL CHRISTMAS DAY AND
CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND AS A REINFORCING SHOT OF COLD AIR ARRIVES
SOMETIME LATE ON FRIDAY.

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 122 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:37 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clarke

When
December 23, 10:40 PM CST to 10:41 PM CST
Where
Clarke County, Grove Hill
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
31.700, -87.783

High winds from a thunderstorm blew down several trees near Grove Hill.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alabama in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Alabama, December 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5326853.