Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 154, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 15, 1989Cleburne County, Randolph County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Nov 15, 1989, 6:50 PM CST for Cleburne County, Randolph County, Alabama. It was in force for 55 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Nov 15, 1989, 6:50 PM CST (00:50 UTC)
Expired
Nov 15, 1989, 7:45 PM CST
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cleburne County, AL, Randolph County, AL

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 209 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, Athens Municipal, GA at 00:00Z on 1989-11-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 813 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Athens Municipal, GA at 00:00Z on 1989-11-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 232 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
813 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
916 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
232 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
322 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
7.1

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.

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

Local storm report, Nov 15, 4:55 PM CST, 1 hour 55 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
450 PM CST WED NOV 15 1989

...AT 255 PM CST...FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED BY BEAR CREEK PD AT
   BEAR CREEK IN MARION COUNTY.
...AT 255 PM CST...FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED AT WOODLAND HIGH SCHOOL
   IN RANDOLPH COUNTY.
...AT 421 PM CST...GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL AND FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED
   IN SOUTHERN RANDOLPH COUNTY.
...AT 430 PM CST...40-50 MPH WINDS REPORTED AT ALICEVILLE IN PICKENS
   COUNTY.
...AT 440 PM CST...FUNNEL CLOUND AT BACON LEVEL COMMUNITY IN
   SOUTHEASTERN RANDOLPH COUNTY.
...AT 440 PM CST...TREES DOWN ON HWY 43 5 NORTH HAMILTON.
...AT 440 PM CST...TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN IN WINSTON COUNTY
   5 NORTH HALEYVILLE.
...AT 442 PM CST...GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL AND STREET FLOODING IN THE
   ROANOKE AREA OF RANDOLPH COUNTY.
Local storm report, Nov 15, 5:00 PM CST, 1 hour 50 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
450 PM CST WED NOV 15 1989

...AT 440 PM CST...AT MCALLA IN JEFFERSON COUNTY...DOWNED TELEPHONE
   POLES.
...AT 443 PM CST...TORNADO TOUCHDOWN AT EITHER ROANOKE OR ROCK MILLS
   ...AT LEAST 2 MOBILE HOMES OVERTURNED AND GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL FELL.
...AT 455 PM CST...GUST NEAR 60 MPH AT WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN
   BIRMINGHAM.
...AT 455 PM CST...DIME SIZE HAIL AT LAKESHORE DRIVE IN HOMEWOOD.
Local storm report, Nov 15, 5:42 PM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
542 PM CST WED NOV 15 1989

4:50 PM CST BARN IN THE ROAD JUST EAST OF ROCK MILLS IN RANDOLPH
            COUNTY ON HWY 22.

5:11 PM CST 50 TO 55 MPH WINDS AT TRUSSVILLE, JEFFERSON COUNTY.

5:18 PM CST POWER OUT AT SHELBY/CHILTON COUNTY LINE SOUTH OF
            CALERA IN SHELBY COUNTY.

5:20 PM CST GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL IN LEESBURG AREA IN WESTERN
            CHEROKEE COUNTY, AL.

5:25 PM CST 40 TO 50 MPH IN WESTERN JEFFERSON COUNTY.

5:30 PM CST PEA SIZE HAIL ON EAST SIDE OF ALABASTER, SHELBY
            COUNTY.

5:40 PM CST UTILITY LINES DOWN IN PINSON, JEFFERSON COUNTY

5:41 PM CST TREES DOWN IN BIRMINGPORT, WESTERN JEFFERSON COUNTY<
Local storm report, Nov 15, 5:45 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MONTGOMERY AL
545 PM CST WED NOV 15 1989

1630 TORNADO/TREES DOWN VCNTY CAMP HILL ALABAMA...BY LOCAL FIRE CHIEF
     THRU EMA

1645 REPORT OF TORNADO PATH OF TREES CDOWN BETWEEN BUFFALO AND LAFAYETTE
     CHAMBER COUNTY ALABAMA...BY AM. RADIO CLUB
Special weather statement, Nov 15, 6:35 PM CST, 15 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Nov 15, 6:44 PM CST, 6 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 15, 6:03 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXTalladega42 min
Nov 15, 6:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay48 min
Nov 15, 6:57 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay33 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1989Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1989

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.