Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 3, 1990, 6:59 PM CST for Jefferson County, Alabama. It was in force for 46 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, 6:59 PM CST (00:59 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 3, 1990, 7:45 PM CST
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Jefferson 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, 7:35 PM CST | Tornado F1 | Jefferson, AL | |
| Feb 3, 7:48 PM CST | Tornado F1 | Jefferson, 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, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 78 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
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 040100 TORBHM ALC073-040145- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 659 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 745 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTH ALABAMA ...JEFFERSON COUNTY AT 655 PM CST A TORNADO WAS MOVING INTO WESTERN JEFFERSON COUNTY NEAR OAK GROVE. THIS STORM IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL PASS ACROSS NORTHERN BIRMINGHAM METRO AREA. A MOBILE HOME HAD BEEN PUSHED OFF ITS FOUNDATION NEAR ELROD IN WESTERN TUSCALOOSA COUNTY. 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... 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, 6:22 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 53 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, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes 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.