Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 49, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 15, 1989Madison County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 15, 1989, 4:39 PM CST for Madison County, Alabama. It was in force for 39 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
Nov 15, 1989, 4:39 PM CST (22:39 UTC)
Expired
Nov 15, 1989, 5:18 PM CST
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Madison 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Nov 15, 4:42 PM CSTTornado F4Madison, 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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 152 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1989-11-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 475 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1989-11-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 209 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
475 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
684 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
209 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
196 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHSV 152240
TORHSV
ALC089-152345-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
439 PM CST WED NOV 15 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  545 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
          ...MADISON
 
AT 4;30 PM A TORNADO WAS REPORT IN SOUTH HUNTSVILLE NEAR THE
OLD AIRPORT AREA.
 
THE TORNADO HAS BEEN MOVING NORTHEAST 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 TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 15, 1:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion49 min
Nov 15, 1:48 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Marion42 min
Nov 15, 1:53 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXClay, Randolph52 min
Nov 15, 2:09 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLamar, Marion51 min
Nov 15, 3:39 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXRandolph36 min
Nov 15, 3:40 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLawrence, Morgan65 min
Nov 15, 3:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Marion46 min
Nov 15, 3:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston46 min
Nov 15, 3:51 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo34 min
Nov 15, 3:54 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence, Limestone, Morgan66 min
Nov 15, 4:13 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone, Madison, Morgan62 min
Nov 15, 4:13 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXRandolph47 min
Nov 15, 4:16 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb44 min
Nov 15, 4:23 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson, Shelby52 min
Nov 15, 4:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman, Walker, Winston43 min
Nov 15, 4:35 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens, Tuscaloosa40 min
Nov 15, 4:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair, Talladega43 min
Nov 15, 4:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton43 min
Nov 15, 5:00 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXCherokee, Etowah45 min
Nov 15, 5:02 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJackson, Madison, Marshall58 min
Nov 15, 5:05 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun25 min
Nov 15, 5:14 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXShelby46 min
Nov 15, 5:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa27 min
Nov 15, 5:26 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson49 min
Nov 15, 5:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee45 min
Nov 15, 5:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount46 min
Nov 15, 5:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby46 min
Nov 15, 5:59 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb, Marshall61 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.