Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Birmingham, AL

February 3, 1990Pickens County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 3, 1990, 5:58 PM CST for Pickens County, Alabama. It was in force for 47 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: Feb 3, 1990, 5:58 PM CST (23:58 UTC)
Expired: Feb 3, 1990, 6:45 PM CST
In force: 47 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

County Pickens 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
Feb 3, 6:35 PM CST	Tornado F0	Pickens, 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, 12.0 hours before the alert went out and 93 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 48 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 609 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 202 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 252 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 032359
TORBHM
ALC107-040045-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
558 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...PICKENS COUNTY
 
AT 555 PM CST RADAR INDICATES A TORNADO IN SOUTHERN PICKENS COUNTY
NEAR ALICEVILLE. THIS TORNADO IS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 35 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 BLAN1KETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 3, 5:02 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Pickens	43 min
Feb 3, 5:53 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Limestone, Madison, Morgan	4 hr
Feb 3, 5:53 PM CST	Flash Flood Warning	BMX	Lawrence	4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1990 Every tornado warning in 1990 Tornadoes 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.