Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 13, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 5, 1989, 1:37 PM CST for Chilton 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 5, 1989, 1:37 PM CST (19:37 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 5, 1989, 2:45 PM CST
- In force
- 68 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Chilton 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 5, 2:40 PM CST | Hail 0.75 | Chilton, 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, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 45 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
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KBHM 051938
TORBHM
ALC021-052045-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
137 PM CST SUN MAR 5 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 245 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN SOUTH ALABAMA
...CHILTON
A TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY RADAR AT 135 PM CST ENTERING INTO SOUTHWEST
CHILTON COUNTY. THIS POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST A 50 MPH.
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 Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 12:35 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin | 55 min |
| Mar 5, 12:52 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin | 68 min |
| Mar 5, 6:02 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Franklin, Lawrence | 58 min |
| Mar 5, 6:38 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar, Marion | 52 min |
| Mar 5, 9:14 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 61 min |
| Mar 5, 9:59 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 61 min |
| Mar 5, 10:47 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 58 min |
| Mar 5, 12:47 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 58 min |
| Mar 5, 1:27 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount | 63 min |
| Mar 5, 1:55 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marshall | 65 min |
| Mar 5, 1:58 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 47 min |
| Mar 5, 2:05 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Walker | 55 min |
| Mar 5, 2:13 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Hale, Perry | 62 min |
| Mar 5, 2:33 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 57 min |
| Mar 5, 2:54 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Limestone, Madison, Morgan | 4 hr |
| Mar 5, 2:59 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb | 61 min |
| Mar 5, 3:18 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 57 min |
| Mar 5, 3:37 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Etowah, St. Clair | 68 min |
| Mar 5, 3:50 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Jefferson, Shelby | 115 min |
| Mar 5, 4:43 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 62 min |
| Mar 5, 5:04 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Clay, Talladega | 56 min |
| Mar 5, 5:15 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1989Every tornado warning in 1989Tornadoes 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.