Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 46, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 1, 1990Marion County, Winston County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 1, 1990, 4:31 PM CDT for Marion County, Winston County, Alabama. It was in force for 59 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 1, 1990, 4:31 PM CDT (21:31 UTC)
Expired
May 1, 1990, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Marion County, AL, Winston 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

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 226 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 1990-05-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 1990-05-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 212 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3616 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
212 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
242 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 012133
SVRBHM
ALC043-093-133-012230-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
431 PM CDT TUE MAY 1 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...CULLMAN COUNTY...SOUTHERN MARION COUNTY...WINSTON COUNTY
 
AT 430 PM CDT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN SOUTHERN MARION AND
WINSTON COUNTIES. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST NEAR 30 MILES
AN HOUR AND WILL MOVE INTO CULLMAN COUNTY DURING THE NEXT HALF HOUR.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, May 1, 3:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before
ALZ004-005-012130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
225 PM CDT TUE MAY 1 1990

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS NORTHWEST ALABAMA...

STRONG THUNDESTORMS WERE MOVING INTO LAMAR COUNTY OF NORTHWEST ALABAMA
AT 225 PM CDT. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

MARBLE SIZE HAIL HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM ACROSS THE
STATELINE IN MISSISSIPPI EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON.

PERSONS IN LAMAR COUNTY CAN EXPECT HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND
HAIL. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO PICKENS...WINSTON...AND FAYETTE
COUNTIES BEFORE 4 PM CDT.

RESIDENTS OF NORTHWEST ALABAMA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPAkRED TO SEEK SHELTER IS THREATENING
WEATHER APPROACHES.
Special weather statement, May 1, 4:09 PM CDT, 22 minutes before
ALZ004-005-012200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
406 PM CDT TUE MAY 1 1990

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS NORTHWEST ALABAMA...

STRONG THUNDESTORMS WERE MOVING THROUGH LAMAR...MARION AND NORTHERN
WINSTON COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST ALABAMA...MOVING TO THE EAST AT AROUND
30 MPH.

MARBLE SIZE HAIL WAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THESE THUNDER STORMS ACROSS THE
STATELINE IN MISSISSIPPI EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON. ALSO MARBLE-SIZED HAIL
WAS REPORTED NEAR HALEYVILLE.

PERSONS IN LAMAR...MARION...WINSTON AS WELL AS WALKER COUNTIES NEED TO
REMAIN ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND STAYED TUNED
FOR LATER STATEMENTS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 1, 2:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone60 min
May 1, 2:15 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison40 min
May 1, 2:25 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLawrence30 min
May 1, 2:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson, Marshall52 min
May 1, 2:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb47 min
May 1, 4:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar48 min
May 1, 4:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman59 min
May 1, 6:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson65 min
May 1, 6:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette, Tuscaloosa47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1990Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1990

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.