Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 35, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 4, 1990Pickens County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 4, 1990, 7:59 AM CDT for Pickens County, Alabama. It was in force for 46 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 4, 1990, 7:59 AM CDT (12:59 UTC)
Expired
Oct 4, 1990, 8:45 AM CDT
In force
46 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Centreville/Bibb, AL (KCKL), launched 12:00Z, 1.0 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Centreville/Bibb, AL at 12:00Z on 1990-10-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Centreville/Bibb, AL at 12:00Z on 1990-10-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 159 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
NaN m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
159 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
179 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 041304
TORBHM
ALC107-041345-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
759 AM CDT THU OCT 4 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...PICKENS COUNTY
 
AT 803 AM CDT A TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY RADAR OVER CENTRAL PICKENS
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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 4, 5:50 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarion40 min
Oct 4, 8:06 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa54 min
Oct 4, 8:13 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson47 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.