Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Jan 19, 1988, 4:06 PM CST for Greene County, Alabama. It was in force for 54 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
- Jan 19, 1988, 4:06 PM CST (22:06 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 19, 1988, 5:00 PM CST
- In force
- 54 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Greene 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 19, 4:50 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Greene, 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
Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 208 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
- 1224 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 660 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 62 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 296 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 349 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.1
- Supercell composite
- 10.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KBHM 192206
TORBHM
ALC063-192300-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
406 PM CST TUE JAN 19 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 500 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN SOUTH ALABAMA
...GREENE
A TORNADO WAS REPORTED JUST SOUTHWEST OF BOLIGEE MOVING NORTHEAST AT
50 MPH.
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
NWhat forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Jan 19, 12:27 PM CST, 3 hours 39 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1225 PM CST TUE JAN 19 1988 ...A STRONG SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR ALABAMA... THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER IN ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PERSONS IN ALABAMA NEED TO KEEP IN CLOSE TOUCH WITH LATE-BREAKING WEATHER INTORMATION AS THE DAY GOES ON. ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 5 CONTINUES FOR A LARGE PART OF NORTH AND WEST-CENTRAL ALABAMA UNTIL 6 PM CST. AT 1225 PM...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSHOWERS WERE OCCURRING OVER NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA. HOWEVER... MORE NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS IN EAST MISSISSIPPI WILL BE MOVING INTO NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA AS EARLY AS 100-130 CST THIS; AFTERNOON. SOME OF THE MORE INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE APPROACHING NORTHWEST ALABAMA. KEEP IN CLOSE TOUCH WITH LATE-BREAKING WEATHER INFORMATION.
Local storm report, Jan 19, 2:25 PM CST, 1 hour 41 minutes before
STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 225 PM CST TUE JAN 19 1988 ...ALABAMA STATE TROOPERS REPORT WIND GUSTS TO 55 MPH AT THE FAYETTE AIRPORT AT ABOUT 210 PM CST. FAYETTE POLICE REPORT SOME MINOR WIND DAMAGE...A COUPLE OF AWNINGS BLOWN OFF.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 19, 12:43 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion | 62 min |
| Jan 19, 12:46 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens | 59 min |
| Jan 19, 12:53 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin | 67 min |
| Jan 19, 1:11 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 64 min |
| Jan 19, 1:14 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 61 min |
| Jan 19, 2:29 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 61 min |
| Jan 19, 3:13 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Morgan | 62 min |
| Jan 19, 3:20 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cullman | 55 min |
| Jan 19, 3:30 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens | 60 min |
| Jan 19, 4:06 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone, Madison | 54 min |
| Jan 19, 5:06 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Perry | 54 min |
| Jan 19, 5:06 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb, Hale, Tuscaloosa | 54 min |
| Jan 19, 5:31 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cullman | 29 min |
| Jan 19, 5:35 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Limestone, Madison, Morgan | 2 hr |
| Jan 19, 5:59 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount, Jefferson | 61 min |
| Jan 19, 5:59 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb, Shelby | 61 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.