Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 64, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 1990, 11:47 AM CDT for Etowah County, Alabama. It was in force for 43 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 20, 1990, 11:47 AM CDT (16:47 UTC)
- Expired
- May 20, 1990, 12:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 43 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Etowah 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 20, 12:18 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 | Etowah, 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 12:00Z, 4.8 hours before the alert went out and 167 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
- 429 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -34 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 689 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 92 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 93 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 1.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 201649 SVRBHM ALC055-117-115-201730- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1147 AM CDT SUN MAY 20 1990 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1230 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTH ALABAMA ...ETOWAH COUNTY...SHELBY COUNTY...ST.CLAIR COUNTY AT 11:45 AM CDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN EASTERN JEFFERSON AND BLOUNT COUNTIES. THIS LINE WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH. SEVERAL REPORTS OF DAMAGE HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN JEFFERSON AND WALKER COUNTIES. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO DON'T DRIVE INTO ARE+AS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 1:22 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Marion | 2 hr |
| May 20, 10:06 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar | 69 min |
| May 20, 10:36 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 54 min |
| May 20, 11:03 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount, Cullman | 57 min |
| May 20, 11:08 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 67 min |
| May 20, 11:12 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 48 min |
| May 20, 11:47 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | St. Clair, Shelby | 43 min |
| May 20, 11:55 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marshall | 35 min |
| May 20, 12:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton | 45 min |
| May 20, 12:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Talladega | 62 min |
| May 20, 12:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cherokee, Etowah | 62 min |
| May 20, 12:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay, Cleburne | 60 min |
| May 20, 1:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Randolph | 53 min |
| May 20, 3:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens, Tuscaloosa | 46 min |
| May 20, 4:07 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 53 min |
| May 20, 4:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 63 min |
| May 20, 6:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb | 55 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.