Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 66, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 18, 1987, 3:46 PM CDT for Fayette County, Lamar County, Marion County, Alabama. It was in force for 44 min. 3 reports 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
- Aug 18, 1987, 3:46 PM CDT (20:46 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 18, 1987, 4:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 44 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Fayette County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Marion 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 4:00 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 60 | Lamar, AL | |
| Aug 18, 4:00 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 60 | Fayette, AL | |
| Aug 18, 4:00 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 60 | Marion, 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 127 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
- 1921 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -39 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 651 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 5 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -47 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 4 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
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, Aug 18, 2:34 PM CDT, 1 hour 12 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MONTGOMERY AL 225 PM CDT TUE AUG 18 1987 AT 220 PM CDT MONTGOMERYS WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A NUMBER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALBAMA. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE FOUND IN AUTAUGA COUNTY...WEST AND NORTHWEST OF PRATTVILLE. OTHER STORMS OF NOTABLE STRENGTH WERE OBSERVED IN WILCOX COUNTY WEST OF CAMDEN... CHAMBERS COUNTY WEST OF LAFAYETTE AND LEE COUNTY NORTH OF OPELIKA. THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 10-15 MPH. THESE ARE STRONG STORMS AND WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY STRONG GUSTY WINDS ...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAIN AND SOME HAIL. PERSONS IN THE VICINITY OF THESE STORMS SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM METAL OBJECTS SUCH AS FENCES AND MET%AL DOORS AND SECURE OBJECTS LIKELY TO BLOW AWAY IN STRONG WINDS. RESIDENTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR THE DURATION OF THE AFTERNOON. SNELL
Special weather statement, Aug 18, 2:37 PM CDT, 1 hour 9 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 235 PM CDT TUE AUG 18 1987 STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING ACROSS CENTRAL ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON. AT 235 PM...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN WESTERN GREENE COUNTY NEAR BOLIGEE...IN WESTERN HALE COUNTY SOUTH OF AKRON...AND JUST EAST OF MARION IN PERRY COUNTY. THESE STORMS WILL HAVE HEAVY RAINFALL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND MAY PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLY SOME HAIL,. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH AND WILL BE AFFECTING PERSONS IN SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF GREENE...HALE AND PERRY COUNTIES. PERSONS SHOULD MOVE INDOORS AS THESE STORMS APPROACH DUE TO THE DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.
Special weather statement, Aug 18, 2:57 PM CDT, 49 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 255 PM CDT TUE AUG 18 1987 STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO WESTERN ALABAMA. AT 255 PM...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS LOCATED IN EASTERN MISSISSIPPI NEAR COLUMBUS WERE MOVING INTO PICKENS COUNTY IN WESTERN ALABAMA. PERSONS IN PICKENS COUNTY CAN EXPECT HEAVY RAINFALL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLY SOME HAIL AS THIS STORM MOVES THROUGH THE COUNTY BETWEEN 3 AND 4 PM. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING WERE LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF BIRMINGHAM INTO SHELBY COUNTY. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. PERSONS SHOULD MOVE INDOORS AS THESE STORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA DUE TOR THE FREQUENT LIGHTNING. REMEMBER LIGHTNING STRIKES WITHOUT WARNING.
Special weather statement, Aug 18, 3:42 PM CDT, 4 minutes before
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</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 8:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens | 43 min |
| Aug 18, 3:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton | 54 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1987Every 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.