Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Birmingham, AL

February 20, 1989Fayette County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 20, 1989, 9:48 PM CST for Fayette County, Alabama. It was in force for 57 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 20, 1989, 9:48 PM CST (03:48 UTC)
Expired
Feb 20, 1989, 10:45 PM CST
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Fayette 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 00:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 104 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 00:00Z on 1989-02-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 164 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 00:00Z on 1989-02-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 288 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
164 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-59 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
805 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
288 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
415 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 210349
TORBHM
ALC057-210445-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
948 PM CST MON FEB 20 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1045 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
          ...FAYETTE
 
AT 950 PM CST A TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY RADAR IN FAYETTE COUNTY AND
WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 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 T+O COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 20, 9:17 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLamar, Marion58 min
Feb 20, 10:14 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXWalker, Winston61 min
Feb 20, 10:16 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLawrence44 min
Feb 20, 10:30 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLauderdale3 hr
Feb 20, 10:36 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens69 min
Feb 20, 11:03 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXPickens57 min
Feb 20, 11:20 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison55 min
Feb 20, 11:23 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXGreene, Tuscaloosa67 min
Feb 20, 11:39 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXCullman66 min
Feb 20, 11:58 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson62 min
Feb 21, 1:00 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLimestone, Madison3 hr

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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.