Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 47, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 1, 1990, 4:31 PM CDT for Cullman County, Alabama. It was in force for 59 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
- 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
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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 5:20 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Cullman, 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, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 223 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
- 728 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -85 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 618 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 142 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 186 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 5.9
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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 60 min |
| May 1, 2:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Madison | 40 min |
| May 1, 2:25 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 30 min |
| May 1, 2:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jackson, Marshall | 52 min |
| May 1, 2:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | DeKalb | 47 min |
| May 1, 4:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 48 min |
| May 1, 4:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion, Winston | 59 min |
| May 1, 6:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 65 min |
| May 1, 6:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Tuscaloosa | 47 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.