Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 12, 1986Colbert County, Franklin County, Lawrence County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 12, 1986, 4:10 PM CST for Colbert County, Franklin County, Lawrence County, Alabama. It was in force for 65 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Mar 12, 1986, 4:10 PM CST (22:10 UTC)
Expired: Mar 12, 1986, 5:15 PM CST
In force: 65 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Colbert County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Lawrence 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, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 189 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: 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 KHSV 122210
TORHSV
ALC033-059-079-122315-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
410 PM CST WED MAR 12 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 515 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

NORTHWEST ALABAMA...COLBERT...FRANKLIN AND LAWRENCE

AT 405PM CST RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR NEWBURG
IN NORTHEAST FRANKLIN COUNT. THIS TORNADO MAY MOVE INTO
COLBERT AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES DURING THE NEXT HOUR.

THIS WARNING MEANS THAT A TORNADO HAS BEEN SIGHTED OR IS
INDICATED ON RADAR... TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY!

AREAS NEAR THIS STORM COULD ALSO EXPERIENCE LARGE HAIL AND
DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 12, 1:25 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Pickens	65 min
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, 4:12 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, 1986 Every tornado warning in 1986 Tornadoes 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.