Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1989
Tornado Warning 7, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 20, 1989, 11:39 PM CST for Cullman County, Alabama. It was in force for 66 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 20, 1989, 11:39 PM CST (05:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 21, 1989, 12:45 AM CST
- In force
- 66 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Cullman 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, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 140 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
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KBHM 210540
TORBHM
ALC043-210645-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1139 PM CST MON FEB 20 1989
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN NORTH ALABAMA
...CULLMAN
AT 1140 PM CST A TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY RADAR NEAR SMITH DAM AND WAS
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 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.What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Feb 20, 8:58 PM CST, 2 hours 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
857 PM CST MON FEB 20 1989
...THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO WEST AND NORTHWEST ALABAMA...
AT 845 PM THIS EVENING RADAR INDICATED A BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDER
STORMS STRETCHING FROM MIDDLE TENNESSEE ACROSS THE NORTHWEST CORNER
OF ALABAMA AND INTO NORTH CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI.
THE STRONGEST OF THESE STORMS WILL BE ENTERING NORTHERN LAMAR AND
MARION COUNTIES AROUND 915 PM. THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF TORNADIC
ACITIVITY AND LARGE HAIL. THERE IS A GOOD POSSIBILITY THAT WARNINGS
WILL HAVE TO BE ISSUED AS THIS STORM ENTERS ALABAMA.
PERSONS SHOULD REMAIN INFORMED ON THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION
AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED OVER MISSISSIPPI AND WILL
CONTINUE MOVING INTO ALABAMA DURING THE NIGHT.Special weather statement, Feb 20, 11:02 PM CST, 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MONTGOMERY AL 11 PM CST MON FEB 20 1989 TORNADO WATCHES ARE IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTH ALABAMA UNTIL 4AM CST TUESDAY MORNING... WEATHER RADAR AT MONTGOMERY SHOWED NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDER STORMS OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTH ALABAMA AT 11PM CST. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 35 MPH. A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS OVER NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND THIS LINE WAS MOVING EASTWARD AT 20 MPH. THIS LINE IS SEVERAL HOURS AWAY FROM THE MORE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE... HOWEVER PERSONS IN SOUTH ALABAMA SHOULD REMAIN ON THE ALERT AS THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES REMAINS HIGH. STAY TUNED TO LOCAL MEDIA STATIONS OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER INFORMATION. PP
Local storm report, Feb 20, 11:30 PM CST, 9 minutes before
STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1130 PM CST MON FEB 20 1989 ...AT 930 PM CST MARBLE SIZED HAIL AND HIGH WINDS REPORTED AT DETROIT NORTHWEST OF HALEYVILLE IN NORTHERN LAMAR COUNTY. ...AT 950 PM CST A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN WAS REPORTED 4 MILES N OF SULLIGENT ON HIGHWAY 17 IN NORTHWEST LAMAR COUNTY...NOT CONFIRMED AT THIS TIME. ...AT 1110 PM CST TORNADO TOUCHDOWN (CONFIRMED BY HALEYVILLE P.D.) 3 MILES EAST OF HALEYVILLE NEAR PEBBLE COMMUNITY IN NORTHEAST MARION COUNTY...EXTENT OF DAMAGE (IF ANY) UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 9:17 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lamar, Marion | 58 min |
| Feb 20, 9:48 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette | 57 min |
| Feb 20, 10:14 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Walker, Winston | 61 min |
| Feb 20, 10:16 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 44 min |
| Feb 20, 10:30 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Lauderdale | 3 hr |
| Feb 20, 10:36 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens | 69 min |
| Feb 20, 11:03 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pickens | 57 min |
| Feb 20, 11:20 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison | 55 min |
| Feb 20, 11:23 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Greene, Tuscaloosa | 67 min |
| Feb 20, 11:58 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 62 min |
| Feb 21, 1:00 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Limestone, Madison | 3 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.