Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 4, 1988Limestone County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 4, 1988, 5:25 PM CST for Limestone 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
Nov 4, 1988, 5:25 PM CST (23:25 UTC)
Expired
Nov 4, 1988, 6:30 PM CST
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Limestone 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Nov 4, 6:15 PM CSTHail 1.75Limestone, 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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 151 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1988-11-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1988-11-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 221 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
989 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
221 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
242 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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 4, 1:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee51 min
Nov 4, 3:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Pickens48 min
Nov 4, 3:25 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert, Franklin65 min
Nov 4, 4:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette, Tuscaloosa40 min
Nov 4, 4:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPerry51 min
Nov 4, 4:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens61 min
Nov 4, 4:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert, Lauderdale61 min
Nov 4, 4:22 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa53 min
Nov 4, 4:32 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette43 min
Nov 4, 4:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa44 min
Nov 4, 4:47 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLauderdale58 min
Nov 4, 4:50 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson55 min
Nov 4, 4:50 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXColbert55 min
Nov 4, 4:54 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker66 min
Nov 4, 5:01 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene, Pickens59 min
Nov 4, 5:01 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLawrence53 min
Nov 4, 5:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin60 min
Nov 4, 5:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb, Hale, Tuscaloosa58 min
Nov 4, 5:37 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson53 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988

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.