Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 30, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 1, 1990Lawrence County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 1, 1990, 2:25 PM CDT for Lawrence County, Alabama. It was in force for 30 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 1, 1990, 2:25 PM CDT (19:25 UTC)
Expired
May 1, 1990, 2:55 PM CDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Lawrence County, AL

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 190 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1990-05-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 728 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1990-05-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 142 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 011928
TORHSV
ALC079-012000-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
ISSUED BY BIRMINGHAM AL
225 PM CDT TUE MAY 1 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  300 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...LAWRENCE COUNTY
 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN
THE SOUTHERN PORTION LAWRENCE SOUTH OF MOULTON. THERE WERE ALSO RADAR
INDICATIONS OF A POSSIBLE TORNADO. THE STORM IS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST
AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.
 
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO.  CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS.  IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH$ OF
A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING.  IF NO
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 1, 2:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone60 min
May 1, 2:15 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison40 min
May 1, 2:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson, Marshall52 min
May 1, 2:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb47 min
May 1, 4:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar48 min
May 1, 4:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion, Winston59 min
May 1, 4:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman59 min
May 1, 6:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson65 min
May 1, 6:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette, Tuscaloosa47 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.