Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 40, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 4, 1989, 5:04 AM CDT for Marshall County, Alabama. It was in force for 46 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 4, 1989, 5:04 AM CDT (10:04 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 4, 1989, 5:50 AM CDT
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Marshall 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 5:20 AM CDT | Hail 1 | Marshall, 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, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 183 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
- 693 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -44 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1133 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 227 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 336 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.9
- Supercell composite
- 13.5
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, Apr 4, 2:42 AM CDT, 2 hours 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 240 AM CDT TUE APR 4 1989 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA... A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 5 AM CDT FOR 24 NORTHWEST ALABAMA COUNTIES. AT 240 AM...VERY SRRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE INTO NORTHWEST ALABAMA FROM EASTERN MISSISSIPPI. THIS INCLUDES SOME STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN WESTERN MARION COUNTY...APPROACHING THE HAMILTON AREA. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO LAMAR COUNTY SOON AFTER 3 AM CDT. THEY WERE MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE POSSIBLE STRONG WINDS... HAIL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...ALONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN. A WARNING MAY BE NEEDED FOR SOME NORTHWEST XALABAMA COUNTIES SOON.
Special weather statement, Apr 4, 2:45 AM CDT, 2 hours 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 240 AM CDT TUE APR 4 1989 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA... A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 5 AM CDT FOR 14 NORTHWEST ALABAMA COUNTIES. AT 240 AM...VERY SRRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE INTO NORTHWEST ALABAMA FROM EASTERN MISSISSIPPI. THIS INCLUDES SOME STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN WESTERN MARION COUNTY...APPROACHING THE HAMILTON AREA. OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO LAMAR COUNTY SOON AFTER 3 AM CDT. THEY WERE MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE POSSIBLE STRONG WINDS... HAIL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...ALONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN. A WARNING MAYb BE NEEDED FOR SOME NORTHWEST ALABAMA COUNTIES SOON.
Local storm report, Apr 4, 3:43 AM CDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
STORM REPORTS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 343 AM CDT TUE APR 4 1989 ...ALABAMA STATE TROOPERS REPORT TREES DOWN AT HAMILTON IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA'S MARION COUNTY. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH THE HAMILTON AREA AROUND 315 TO 320 AM CDT. THE HOME OF AN ALABAMA STATE TROOPER WAS ALSO DAMAGED. THE TROOPERS PATROL CAR WAS THE VICTIM OF A FALLING TREE. STATE TROOPERS REPORT POWER OUT IN THE HAMILTON AREA... " HAMPERING EFFORTS TO CHECK ON DAMAGE.
Local storm report, Apr 4, 4:30 AM CDT, 34 minutes before
STORM REPORTS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 430 AM CDT TUE APR 4 1989 ...THE BIRMINGHAM AMATEUR RADIO CLUB REPORTS NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ON ALABAMA HIGHWAY 14 WEST OF HAMILTON. ALSO AT THE INTERESECTION OF STATE ROUTE 17 AND COUNTY ROAD 1...NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN. HIGHWAY 1 WAS BLOCKED. THIS HAPPENED ABOUT 315 AM. ...ALABAMA STATE TROOPERS REPORT AT LEAST TWO MOBILE HOMES DESTROYED IN THE SOUTH PART OF HALEYVILLE...IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF WINSTON COUNTY. TIME UNKNOWN. ...THE CULLMAN COUNTY EMA OFFICE REPORTED AROUND 420 AM... LOUD ROARING SOUNDS BETWEEN CULLMAN AND LOGAN AND ALSO AT ADDISION IN EASTERN WINSTON COUNTY. ...THEg PUBLIC REPORTS CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE NORTH OF HAMILTON.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 3:01 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar, Marion | 59 min |
| Apr 4, 4:14 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 30 min |
| Apr 4, 4:14 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison, Morgan | 50 min |
| Apr 4, 4:41 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Walker | 64 min |
| Apr 4, 4:41 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount | 64 min |
| Apr 4, 5:02 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens | 43 min |
| Apr 4, 7:54 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Pickens, Tuscaloosa | 66 min |
| Apr 4, 10:00 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cullman | 60 min |
| Apr 4, 10:07 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount, Cullman | 68 min |
| Apr 4, 10:11 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar, Pickens | 64 min |
| Apr 4, 10:21 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marshall | 69 min |
| Apr 4, 10:21 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Morgan | 59 min |
| Apr 4, 10:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Etowah | 60 min |
| Apr 4, 10:36 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 54 min |
| Apr 4, 10:59 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marshall | 46 min |
| Apr 4, 11:21 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens | 69 min |
| Apr 4, 11:35 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | DeKalb | 55 min |
| Apr 4, 11:38 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 67 min |
| Apr 4, 11:56 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 64 min |
| Apr 4, 12:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount | 69 min |
| Apr 4, 12:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb, Hale | 61 min |
| Apr 4, 12:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | St. Clair, Shelby | 64 min |
| Apr 4, 12:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Etowah | 65 min |
| Apr 4, 12:49 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Shelby | 41 min |
| Apr 4, 1:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Cherokee, Etowah | 59 min |
| Apr 4, 1:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Hale, Marengo | 60 min |
| Apr 4, 1:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay, Cleburne | 60 min |
| Apr 4, 1:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Hale, Marengo | 43 min |
| Apr 4, 1:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Randolph | 60 min |
| Apr 4, 1:59 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Chilton | 31 min |
| Apr 4, 2:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marengo | 63 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.