Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 5, 1989Lamar County, Marion County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 5, 1989, 6:38 AM CST for Lamar County, Marion County, Alabama. It was in force for 52 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 5, 1989, 6:38 AM CST (12:38 UTC)
Expired
Mar 5, 1989, 7:30 AM CST
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Lamar County, AL, Marion 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

Centreville/Bibb, AL (KCKL), launched 12:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 139 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 1989-03-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 771 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 1989-03-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 266 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
771 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
581 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
266 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
304 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
5.8

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

Special weather statement, Mar 5, 1:39 AM CST, 4 hours 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
138 AM CST SUN MAR 5 1989

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR MARION COUNTY HAS EXPIRED...
...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR NORTHERN LAMAR COUNTY HAS
EXPIRED...
...A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA
TILL 4 AM...
...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR THE NORTH HALF OF ALABAMA FOR THE
REMAINDER OF TONIGHT...

RADAR AT 1:30 AM CONTINUED TO SHOW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS
NORTHWEST ALABAMA. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO FORM IN MISSISSIPPI THEREFORE THE POTENTIAL
FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL CONTINUE EARLY THIS MORNING FOR WEST CENTRAL
AND NORTHOWEST ALABAMA.

ALSO SINCE THE SOIL IS SATURATED HEAVY RAINFALL MAY PRODUCE FLASH
FLOODING.
Special weather statement, Mar 5, 2:57 AM CST, 3 hours 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
257 AM CST SUN MAR 5 1989

...THE TORNADO WATCH FOR WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA HAS BEEN CANCELLED...
...THE TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTHWEST ALABAMA REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL
4 AM...
...AND THE TORNADO WATCH FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ALABAMA
REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM...
...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR THE NORTH HALF OF ALABAMA FOR THE
REMAINDER OF TONIGHT...

AT 250 AM RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS NOW OCURRING ACROSS NORTHWEST
ALABAMA...GENERALLY FROM MUSCLE SHOALS TO HUNTSVILLE/DECATUR. ACROSS
THE CENTRAL COUNTIES...ONLY A FEW LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS WERE OCURRING.

ALTHOUGH THE TORNADO WATCH IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA HAS BEEN CANCELLED
...THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI WERE INCREASING...THEREFORE
POSSIBILITY FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS STILL EXISTS FOR THE AREA.

ALSO PERSONS IN NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR THE
POSSIBILITY OF FLASH FLO3ODING SINCE THE SOIL IS SATURATED.
Special weather statement, Mar 5, 4:22 AM CST, 2 hours 16 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
420 AM CST SUN MAR 5 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES FOR SECTIONS OF NORTH ALABAMA UNTIL 6 AM...

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST FOR NORTH ALABAMA EAST
OF A LINE FROM ATHENS TO CULLMAN...AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM CULLMAN TO
WEISS LAKE IN CHEROKEE COUNTY.

THE TORNADO WATCH ISSUED EARLIER FOR NORTHWEST ALABAMA HAS EXPIRED.

AT 4:15 AM CST SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN WERE
CONCENTRATED OVER THE NORTHWEST COUNTIES...GENERALLY FROM VERNON IN
LAMAR COUNTY TO THE MUSCLE SHOALS/ATHENS AREA.

ONLY A FEW LIGHT RAINSHOWERS WERE OCCURING OVER THE WEST CENTRAL
COUNTIES...HOWEVER THUNDERSTORMS WERE INCREASING IN INTENSITY OVER
CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY MOVE INTO WEST ALABAMA
AROUND DAYBREAK. THEREFORE YOU NEED TO REMAIN ALERT TO THE LOCAL
WEATHER CONDITIONS.
ALSO...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH HALF OF
ALABAMA...BASICALLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM LIVINGSTON TO CLANTON TO
HEFLIN. IF YOU LIVE IN OR NEAR A FLOOD PRONE AREA...YOU NEED TO REVIEW
SAFETY PROCEDURES AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
Special weather statement, Mar 5, 4:24 AM CST, 2 hours 14 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
420 AM CST SUN MAR 5 1989

...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR WEST AND NORTHWEST ALABAMA
UNTIL 10 AM CST.

THE TORNADO WATCH EXTENDS ROUGHLY ON A LINE FROM HUNTSVILLE...TO
TUSCALOOSA...TO DEMOPOLIS. THIS WATCH REPLACES ALL OTHER TORNADO
WATCHES.

AT 4:15 AM CST SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN WERE
CONCENTRATED OVER THE NORTHWEST COUNTIES...GENERALLY FROM VERNON IN
LAMAR COUNTY TO THE MUSCLE SHOALS/ATHENS AREA.

ONLY A FEW LIGHT RAINSHOWERS WERE OCCURING OVER THE WEST CENTRAL
COUNTIES...HOWEVER THUNDERSTORMS WERE INCREASING IN INTENSITY OVER
CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT
40 MPH AND WILL BE ENTERING WEST CENTRAL AND NORTH WEST ALABAMA WITHIN
THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO.
IN ADDITION...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH HALF
OF ALABAMA...BASICALLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM LIVINGSTON TO CLANTON TO
HEFLIN. IF YOU LIVE IN OR NEAR A FLOOD PRONE AREA...YOU NEED TO REVIEW
SAFETY PROCEDURES AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
Special weather statement, Mar 5, 5:00 AM CST, 1 hour 38 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
459 AM CST SUN MAR 5 1989

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING TOWARD NORTHWEST ALABAMA.

AT 458 AM CST A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NORTH OF COLUMBUS
MISSISSIPPI...MOVING TOWARD HAMILTON IN MARION COUNTY. THIS STORM
WILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND WIND GUSTS
APPROACHING 40 MPH.

ABERDEEN MISSISSIPPI POLICE REPORTED VERY HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS...
AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING AS THE STORM MOVED THROUGH THE TOWN.

OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
WERE MOVING TOWARD WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND SHOULD ENTER THE STATE
WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO.

PERSONS IN NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA NEED TO BE ALERT AS THESE
STORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA.
.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SECTIONS OF WEXT AND NORTH
ALABAMA UNTIL 10 AM CST.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 5, 12:35 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert, Franklin55 min
Mar 5, 12:52 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXColbert, Franklin68 min
Mar 5, 6:02 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXFranklin, Lawrence58 min
Mar 5, 9:14 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar61 min
Mar 5, 9:59 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion61 min
Mar 5, 10:47 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston58 min
Mar 5, 12:47 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson58 min
Mar 5, 1:27 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXBlount63 min
Mar 5, 1:37 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXChilton68 min
Mar 5, 1:55 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMarshall65 min
Mar 5, 1:58 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa47 min
Mar 5, 2:05 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXWalker55 min
Mar 5, 2:13 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXHale, Perry62 min
Mar 5, 2:33 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson57 min
Mar 5, 2:54 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLimestone, Madison, Morgan4 hr
Mar 5, 2:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb61 min
Mar 5, 3:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair57 min
Mar 5, 3:37 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah, St. Clair68 min
Mar 5, 3:50 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson, Shelby115 min
Mar 5, 4:43 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega62 min
Mar 5, 5:04 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun, Clay, Talladega56 min
Mar 5, 5:15 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXCherokee60 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.