Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1986
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 12, 1986, 1:25 PM CST for Pickens 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
- Mar 12, 1986, 1:25 PM CST (19:25 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 12, 1986, 2:30 PM CST
- In force
- 65 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Pickens 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2:15 PM CST | Tornado F3 | Pickens, 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, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 93 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.
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 121925 TORBHM ALC107-122030- BULLETIN-EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 125 PM CST WED MAR 12 1986 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 230 PM CST FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN ALABAMA... PICKENS AT 125 PM A TORNADO WAS PASSING NORTHWEST OF MERIDIAN, IN EAST MISSISSIPPI. THE TORNADO IS CONTAINED IN A HUGE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THAT HAS CAUSED PROPERTY DAMAGE NEAR QUITMAN AND STRINGER MISSISSIPPI. THE TORNADO WAS ACTUALLY SIGHTED PASSING 5 MILES WEST OF MERIDIAN. THIS HUGE THUNDERSTORM...CONTAINING THE TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH. IT WILL TRACK ACROSS WEST-CENTRAL ALABAMA'S PICKENS COUNTY4. IT WAS HEADED ALMOST DIRECTLY TOWARD ALICEVILLE. PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2:30 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar, Pickens | 60 min |
| Mar 12, 3:08 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion | 67 min |
| Mar 12, 3:35 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 40 min |
| Mar 12, 3:35 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar, Pickens | 40 min |
| Mar 12, 3:56 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Franklin, Lawrence | 64 min |
| Mar 12, 4:10 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence | 65 min |
| Mar 12, 4:12 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion, Winston | 63 min |
| Mar 12, 4:12 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar, Pickens | 63 min |
| Mar 12, 4:25 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marengo | 65 min |
| Mar 12, 4:25 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 65 min |
| Mar 12, 4:30 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 60 min |
| Mar 12, 4:55 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Walker | 65 min |
| Mar 12, 5:02 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cullman | 58 min |
| Mar 12, 5:25 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette, Pickens | 65 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.