Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 46, NWS Birmingham, AL

July 4, 1987Jefferson County, Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 4, 1987, 3:50 PM CDT for Jefferson County, Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 40 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 4, 1987, 3:50 PM CDT (20:50 UTC)
Expired: Jul 4, 1987, 4:30 PM CDT
In force: 40 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 4, 4:08 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, 8.8 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: 1448 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -48 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 876 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 50 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 4, 11:01 AM CDT, 4 hours 49 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MONTGOMERY AL
1055 AM CDT SAT JUL 04 1987

RADAR AT MONTGOMERY SHOWED NUMEROUS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING
OVER SOUTHEAST ALABAMA AT 1045 AM. THE STORMS WERE IN BANDS EXTENDING
FROM NEAR ANDALUSIA TO THE EUFAULA AREA. THE MOST INTENSE STORMS WERE
FROM ANDALUSIA TO ELBA.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT AROUND 25 MPH AND WILL BE PRODUCING
STRONG GUSTY WINDS...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...VERY HEAVY RAIN
...AND POSSIBLY SOME HAIL.

OTHER INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER RUSSELL COUNTY JUST SOUTHWEST OF
PHENIX CITY. THESE STORMS WERE PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN AND MOVING
SOUTHEAST.

SOUTHEAST ALABAMA REDISENTS SHOULD EXPECT RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER
CONDITIONS FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
DEVAUGHN

Local storm report, Jul 4, 2:21 PM CDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before

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Special weather statement, Jul 4, 3:12 PM CDT, 38 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 4, 1:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Pickens, Tuscaloosa	56 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1987 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

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.