Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Birmingham, AL

February 3, 1990Tuscaloosa County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 3, 1990, 6:22 PM CST for Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. It was in force for 53 min. 2 reports 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, 6:22 PM CST (00:22 UTC)
Expired: Feb 3, 1990, 7:15 PM CST
In force: 53 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

County Tuscaloosa 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, 6:45 PM CST	Tornado F0	Tuscaloosa, AL
Feb 3, 6:50 PM CST	Tornado F1	Tuscaloosa, 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 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 53 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: 297 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 962 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 139 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 164 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 040023
TORBHM
ALC125-040115-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
622 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...TUSCALOOSA COUNTY
 
AT 625 PM CST RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO IN WESTERN TUSCALOOSA COUNTY.
THIS TORNADO IS MOVING NORTHEST 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 BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
nOR 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, 6:59 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Jefferson	46 min
Feb 3, 7:23 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Shelby	67 min
Feb 3, 7:41 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Jefferson	49 min
Feb 3, 8:07 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	St. Clair	68 min
Feb 3, 8:14 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Talladega	61 min
Feb 3, 9:26 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Shelby	34 min

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.