Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Tallahassee, FL

November 4, 1988Russell County, Alabama

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Nov 4, 1988, 3:20 PM CST for Russell County, Alabama. It was in force for 25 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, 3:20 PM CST (21:20 UTC)
Expired
Nov 4, 1988, 3:45 PM CST
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Russell 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, 3:45 PM CSTHail 2.75Russell, 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, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 201 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 12:00Z on 1988-11-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 1988-11-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 147 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
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-155 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
926 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
147 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
145 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCSG 042120 RRA
TORCSG
ALC113-042145-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBUS GA
420 PM EST FRI NOV 4 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBUS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  445 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA
          ...RUSSELL
 
AT 419 PM EST COLUMBUS WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO
10 MILES NORTH OF SEALE ALABAMA IN NORTHCENTRAL RUSSELL COUNTY.
MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 25 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...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 4, 5:48 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAERussell57 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.