Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 13, NWS Mobile, AL
NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 26, 1988, 7:52 AM CST for Covington County, Alabama. It was in force for 68 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
- Mar 26, 1988, 7:52 AM CST (13:52 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 26, 1988, 9:00 AM CST
- In force
- 68 min
- Issued by
- NWS Mobile, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Covington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 8:10 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Covington, 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, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 197 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
- 89 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -63 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 535 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 59 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 156 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 172 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KMGM 261353
SVRMGM
ALC039-261500-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MONTGOMERY AL
752 AM CST SAT MAR 26 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MONTGOMERY HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 900 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN SOUTH ALABAMA
...COVINGTON
AT 0752 AM CST MONTGOMERY RADAR SHOWED AN INTENSE CELL IN NORTHEAST
COVINGTON COUNTY MOVING EAST AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESSW. HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.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, Mar 26, 5:50 AM CST, 2 hours 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENSACOLA FL 535 AM CST SAT MAR 26 1988 AT 530 AM CST...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST ALABAMA AND MOVING INTO THE WESTERN PART OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE SCATTERED OVER SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI AND SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF PENSACOLA... NEAR FAIRHOPE ALABAMA...AND 40 TO 80 MILES NORTHWEST THROUGH NORTHEAST OF MOBILE. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAINS... FREQUENT LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS AROUND 45 MILES AN HOUR...POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL...AND FOR MARINE INTERESTS THE ADDITIONAL ROUGH SEAS. PERSONS SHOULD TAKE ANY NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS FOR THESE CONDITIONS AS THE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA.
Special weather statement, Mar 26, 6:48 AM CST, 1 hour 4 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENSACOLA FL 635 AM CST SAT MAR 26 1988 AT 630 AM CST...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS OVER NORTHCENTRAL SANTA ROSA COUNTY AND MOVING RAPIDLY EAST-NORTHEAST INTO OKALOOSA COUNTY WEST OF CRESTVIEW. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS...SOME STRONG...WERE OVER SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST... THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE...AND IMMEDIATE COASTAL WATERS. SOME OF THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WERE NEAR BAYOU LA BATRE ALABAMA... AND 50 TO 80 MILES NORTH THROUGH NORTHEAST OF MOBILE. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAINS... FREQUENT LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS AROUND 45 MILES AN HOUR...POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL...AND FOR MARINE INTERESTS THE ADDITIONAL ROUGH SEAS. PERSONS SHOULD TAKE ANY NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS FOR THESE CONDITIONS AS THE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA.
Special weather statement, Mar 26, 6:52 AM CST, 1 hour before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENSACOLA FL 635 AM CST SAT MAR 26 1988 AT 630 AM CST...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS OVER NORTHCENTRAL SANTA ROSA COUNTY AND MOVING RAPIDLY EAST-NORTHEAST INTO OKALOOSA COUNTY WEST OF CRESTVIEW. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS...SOME STRONG...WERE OVER SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE...AND IMMEDIATE COASTAL WATERS. SOME OF THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WERE NEAR BAYOU LA BATRE ALABAMA... AND 50 TO 80 MILES NORTH THROUGH NORTHEAST OF MOBILE. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAINS... FREQUENT LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS AROUND 45 MILES AN HOUR...POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL...AND FOR MARINE INTERESTS THE ADDITIONAL ROUGH SEAS. PERSONS SHOULD TAKE ANY NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS FOR THESE CONDITIONS AS THE THUNDERSTORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA.
Special weather statement, Mar 26, 7:13 AM CST, 39 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 715 AM CST SAT MAR 26 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 AM FOR SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI...SOUTHWEST ALABAMA AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS... AT 710 AM CST MOBILE RADAR INDICATED SEVERAL STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER SOUTHWEST ALABAMA. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING BETWEEN JACKSON AND EVERGREEN ALABAMA AND OVER THE MOBILE BAY EXTENDING SOUTHWESTWARD INTO THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY RAINFALL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND SOME SMALL HAIL AS THEY MOVE THROUGH THE WATCH AREA THIS MORNING. THE GROUND IS ALREADY SATURATED FROM THE HEAVY RAINS THE PAST 24 HOURS AND ANY ADDITIONAL HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL LIKELY CAUSE FLOODING OF STREETS AND LOW LYING AREAS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 6:30 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Clarke, Washington | 60 min |
| Mar 26, 8:14 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Baldwin | 36 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1988Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.