Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 63, NWS Birmingham, AL

July 21, 1986Jefferson County, Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 21, 1986, 4:25 PM CDT for Jefferson County, Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 65 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jul 21, 1986, 4:25 PM CDT (21:25 UTC)
Expired: Jul 21, 1986, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 65 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Jefferson County, AL, Shelby County, AL

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 21, 4:30 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 0	Jefferson, AL

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Centreville/Bibb, AL (KCKL), launched 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 69 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: 1646 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -63 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1298 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 0 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 0 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 0 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 212127
SVRBHM
ALC073-117-212230-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
425 PM CDT MON JUL 21 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 5:30 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN

NORTH-CENTRAL ALABAMA...JEFFERSON AND SHELBY

AN ALMOST STATIONARY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CONTINUES OVER SOUTH
JEFFERSON AND NORTH SHELBY COUNTY. THIS LARGE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
HAD ALREADY PRODUCED WIND DAMAGE...LARGE HAIL...AND FLOODING.

THIS HUGE THUNDERSTORM IS ALSO AN UNUSUALLY SEVERE ELECTRICAL
STORM. THE LIGHTNING IS ALMOST CONTINUOUS AND IS ESPECIALLY SEVERE.

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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 21, 1:18 PM CDT, 3 hours 7 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
115 PM CDT MON JUL 21 1986

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED QUICKLY ACROSS CENTRAL AND
SOUTH ALABAMA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS
HAVE ALREADY BECOME STRONG.

ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA...SOME OF THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS
AT 1:15 WERE LOCATED...

...OVER NORTHEAST PICKENS COUNTY 10 MILES NORTH OF GORDO.
...OVER CENTRAL GREENE COUNTY JUST NORTH OF EUTAW.
...OVER NORTH MARENGO COUNTY BETWEEN DEMOPOLIS AND LINDEN.
...OVER NORTH CLAY COUNTY BETWEEN ASHLAND AND ANNISTON.

THE THUNDERSTOEMS WERE MOVING VERY LITTLE. THE STRONGEST ONES
WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...VERY DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...LOCALIZED
BRIEF STRONG WINDS AND POSSIBLE HAIL.

Special weather statement, Jul 21, 1:43 PM CDT, 2 hours 42 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
145 PM CDT MON JUL 21 1986

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ACROSS CENTRAL AND
SOUTH ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON.

ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA...SOME OF THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS
AT 1:45 WERE LOCATED...

...OVER NORTH GREENE COUNTY NEAR AND NORTH OF EUTAW.
...OVER NORTHWEST MARENGO COUNTY JUST WEST AND NORTHWEST OF
   LINDEN. THESE ARE VERY STRONG AND DUMPING MUCH RAIN.
...OVER SOUTH HALE COUNTY SOUTH OF GREENSBORO.
...OVER NORTH CLAY COUNTY 10 MILES NORTH OF ASHLAND.

THE THUNDERSTOEMS WERE MOVING VERY LITTLE. THE STRONGEST ONES
WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...VERY DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...LOCALIZED
BRIEF STRONG WINDS AND POSSIBLE HAIL.

Special weather statement, Jul 21, 1:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 30 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MONTGOMERY AL
1 50 PM CDT MON JUL 21 1986

...VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH ALABAMA...

WEATHER RADAR AT MONTGOMERY SHOWED INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS
SCATTERED OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH ALABAMA.  THE HEAVIEST THUNDERSTORMS
WERE LOCATED OVER EAST MONTGOMERY COUUNTY.. AND WEST OF A LINE
FROM CLANTON TO CAMDEN. LITTLE MOVEMENT WAS INDICATED WITH THESE
THUNDERSTORMS.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS..VERY DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING..TORRENTIAL RAIN AND SMALL HAIL..PERSONS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH
ALABAMA SHOULD REMAIN ON ALERT FOR THESE CONDITIONS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF
HOURS.

Local storm report, Jul 21, 3:11 PM CDT, 1 hour 14 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
310 PM CDT THU JUL 17 1986

...WBDD-TV/TUSCALOOSA, REPORTS MARBLE SIZE HAIL IN THE TUSCALOOSA
   AREA...OCCURRING AROUND 2:30 PM CDT. LIGHTNING KNOCKED OUT
   POWER AND TELEHONE LINES TO THE TV STUDIOS...LOCATED IN THE
   SOUTHEAST EDGE OF TUSCALOOSA.

Local storm report, Jul 21, 3:46 PM CDT, 39 minutes before

STORM REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
345 PM CDT THU JUL 17 1986

...WDBB-TV/TUSCALOOSA, REPORTS MARBLE SIZE HAIL IN THE TUSCALOOSA
   AREA...OCCURRING AROUND 2:30 PM CDT. LIGHTNING KNOCKED OUT
   POWER AND TELEHONE LINES TO THE TV STUDIOS...LOCATED IN THE
   SOUTHEAST EDGE OF TUSCALOOSA.

...ALABAMA STATE TROOPERS REPORTED DIME SIZE HAIL AT ALBERTA
   CITY ON THE EAST EDGE OF TUSCALOOSA...ALSO AROUND 2:30.

...AT 3:35 PM...PUBLIC REPORTED HAIL UP TO MARBE SIZE HAIL IN
   THE MEDOWBROOK SUBDIVISION OFF U. S. 280 IN NORTH SHELBY
   COUNTY ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM.

...THE BIRMINGHAM AMATEUR RADIO CLUB REPORTED GOLF BALL SIZE
   HAIL AND VERY HIGH WINDS EIN HOOVER...JUST SOUTH OF BIRMINGHAM...
   AT 3:40 PM CDT.

Local storm report, Jul 21, 4:20 PM CDT, 5 minutes before

STORM REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
420 PM CDT THU JUL 17 1986

...THE BIRMINGHAM AMATEUR RADIO CLUB REPORTS TWO TREES UPROOTED
   ON SHADES MOUNTAIN JUST SOUTH OF BIRMINGHAM. A COMMUNICATI{ONS
   TOWER ON SOUTH SANDERS ROAD WAS REPORTED HALF BLOWN OVER.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 21, 2:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene	60 min
Jul 21, 2:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Hale	40 min
Jul 21, 3:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson, Shelby	50 min
Jul 21, 4:35 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Jefferson, Shelby	55 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1986 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.