Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 12, 1986Cullman County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 12, 1986, 5:02 PM CST for Cullman County, Alabama. It was in force for 58 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 12, 1986, 5:02 PM CST (23:02 UTC)
Expired
Mar 12, 1986, 6:00 PM CST
In force
58 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Cullman County, AL

The radar

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

The nearest sounding before it

Centreville/Bibb, AL (KCKL), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 140 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, Centreville/Bibb, AL at 12:00Z on 1986-03-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 941 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Centreville/Bibb, AL at 12:00Z on 1986-03-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 295 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
941 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-117 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
562 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
295 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
339 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 122301
TORBHM
ALC043-130000-

BULLETIN-EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
502 PM CST WED MAR 12 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE
UNTIL 6 PM CST FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN

ALABAMA...CULLMAN

LARGE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...POSSIBLY CONTAINING A TORNADO WERE
MOVING TOWARD CULLMAN COUNTY. ANOTHER TORNADO WARNING IS ALSO
IN EFFECT FOR WALKER COUNTY UNTIL 6 PM CST.

A TORNADO WARNING ALSO CONTINUES UNTIL 5:15 FOR LAMAR...PICKENS
FAYETTE...WINSTON AND MARION COUNTIES AND FOR TUSCALOOSA COUNTY
UNTIL 5:30 PM CST.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 12, 1:25 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXPickens65 min
Mar 12, 2:30 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette, Lamar, Pickens60 min
Mar 12, 3:08 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMarion67 min
Mar 12, 3:35 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXWinston40 min
Mar 12, 3:35 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette, Lamar, Pickens40 min
Mar 12, 3:56 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFranklin, Lawrence64 min
Mar 12, 4:10 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXColbert, Franklin, Lawrence65 min
Mar 12, 4:12 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMarion, Winston63 min
Mar 12, 4:12 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette, Lamar, Pickens63 min
Mar 12, 4:25 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo65 min
Mar 12, 4:25 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair65 min
Mar 12, 4:30 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa60 min
Mar 12, 4:55 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXWalker65 min
Mar 12, 5:25 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette, Pickens65 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.