Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 21, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 20, 1989, 6:40 PM CST for Jefferson County, Alabama. It was in force for 65 min. 2 reports 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 20, 1989, 6:40 PM CST (00:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 20, 1989, 7:45 PM CST
- In force
- 65 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Jefferson 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 20, 6:55 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Jefferson, AL | |
| Mar 20, 7:10 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Jefferson, 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, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 78 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
- 298 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -17 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1556 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 181 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 229 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 1.2
The text
The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 6:01 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 59 min |
| Mar 20, 7:04 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 56 min |
| Mar 20, 7:17 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton | 58 min |
| Mar 20, 7:39 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 66 min |
| Mar 20, 8:35 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cleburne | 55 min |
| Mar 21, 2:14 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 46 min |
| Mar 21, 2:54 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Bibb, Jefferson, Shelby | 66 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.