Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 37, NWS Birmingham, AL

December 22, 1990Pickens County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Dec 22, 1990, 6:58 AM CST for Pickens County, Alabama. It was in force for 32 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 22, 1990, 6:58 AM CST (12:58 UTC)
Expired
Dec 22, 1990, 7:30 AM CST
In force
32 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 1990-12-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 142 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 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 1990-12-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 199 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
142 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
559 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
199 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
201 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 221259
TORBHM
ALC107-221330-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
658 AM CST SAT DEC 22 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...NORTHERN PICKENS COUNTY
 
AT 654 AM CST WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO JUST WEST OF
THE TOWN OF REFORM. A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER HAS SPOTTED A FUNNEL
CLOUD JUST WEST OF REFORM. THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
 
 
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...iGO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 21, 8:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion42 min
Dec 21, 8:23 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXColbert, Lauderdale4 hr
Dec 21, 8:33 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert, Franklin57 min
Dec 21, 10:43 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens32 min
Dec 21, 10:48 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar42 min
Dec 22, 2:24 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXColbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan4 hr
Dec 22, 2:24 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXMadison4 hr
Dec 22, 2:34 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLamar, Marion4 hr
Dec 22, 2:34 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXWinston4 hr
Dec 22, 6:30 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLimestone, Madison, Morgan4 hr
Dec 22, 6:30 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXColbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence4 hr
Dec 22, 6:39 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXMarion, Winston2 hr
Dec 22, 6:39 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLamar2 hr
Dec 22, 10:18 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXCullman, Fayette, Walker117 min
Dec 22, 10:18 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLamar, Pickens117 min
Dec 22, 10:30 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXJackson, Madison, Marshall4 hr
Dec 22, 10:30 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXColbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence4 hr
Dec 22, 10:30 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLimestone, Morgan4 hr
Dec 22, 12:15 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXCullman, Walker3 hr
Dec 22, 12:15 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXFayette, Lamar, Pickens3 hr
Dec 22, 1:40 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXMarion, Winston80 min
Dec 22, 2:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene29 min
Dec 22, 3:04 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa56 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.