Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 19, NWS Jackson, MS

April 25, 1988Choctaw County, Alabama

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at Apr 25, 1988, 4:49 AM CDT for Choctaw County, Alabama. It was in force for 26 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
Apr 25, 1988, 4:49 AM CDT (09:49 UTC)
Expired
Apr 25, 1988, 5:15 AM CDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Jackson, MS
Area
Whole counties

County Choctaw 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
Apr 25, 5:00 AM CDTHail 0.75Choctaw, 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 00:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 140 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, Centreville/Bibb, AL at 00:00Z on 1988-04-25Temperature 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, Centreville/Bibb, AL at 00:00Z on 1988-04-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -20 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
2634 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
33 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KMEI 250951
TORMEI
ALC023-251015-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MERIDIAN MS
449 AM CDT MON APR 25 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MERIDIAN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  515 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA
          ...CHOCTAW
 
AT 945 AM CDT RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 8 MILES SOUTHWEST
OF BUTLER ALABAMA MOVING TO THE EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS.D..PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

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.