Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990
Tornado Warning 5, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 3, 1990, 8:07 PM CST for St. Clair County, Alabama. It was in force for 68 min. 1 report 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, 8:07 PM CST (02:07 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 3, 1990, 9:15 PM CST
- In force
- 68 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County St. Clair 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, 9:05 PM CST | Tornado F1 | St. Clair, 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, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 122 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 040208 TORBHM ALC115-040315- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 807 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 915 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTH ALABAMA ...ST.CLAIR COUNTY THE THUNDERSTORM WHICH HAS BEEN MOVING NORTHEAST ACROSS JEFFERSON COUNTY FOR THE LAST HOUR OR SO PRODUCING NUMEROUS REPORTS OF DAMAGE CONTINUES TO MOVE NORTHEAST AND WILL AFFECT ST. CLAIR COUNTY DURING THE NEXT HOUR. COMMUNITIES IN THE DIRECT PATH OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE STORM ARE SPRINGVILLE...ST. CLAIR SPRINGS...WHITNEY AND ASHVILLE. DO NOT USE YOUR CAR T6O 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.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Feb 3, 4:48 PM CST, 3 hours 19 minutes before
ALZ010-011-012-014-017-018-040000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MONTGOMERY AL 445 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 10 PM FOR AUTAUGA...LOWNDES... DALLAS...WILCOX AND BUTLER COUNTIES... AT 440 PM CST RADAR AT MONTGOMERY INDICATED SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER SOUTHEAST ALABAMA FROM ANDALUSIA TO EUFAULA. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER EAST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI THROUGH NORTHWEST ALABAMaA. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT AROUND 30 MILES AN HOUR. PERSONS IN SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ALABAMA SHOULD REMAIN WEATHER ALERT TONIGHT AND LISTEN NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Feb 3, 4:53 PM CST, 3 hours 14 minutes before
ALZALL-032330- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...COR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 445 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN ALABAMA AND WILL CONTINUE UNTIL 10 PM... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR AT 445 PM CST SHOWED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN EXTREME EASTERN MISSISSIPPI MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THE LINE WILL BE MOVING INTO WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST ALABAMA BY 5 PM CST. THE STRONGEST STORM WAS LOCATED ABOUT 40 MILES NORTH OF MERIDIAN MISSISSIPPI...AND WILL BE MOVING INTO PICKENS COUNTY OF ALABAMA BY 5 PM CST. THESE THUNDERSTORMS CONTAIN BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING... AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS.m PERSONS IN WEST CENTRAL AND NORTH WEST ALABAMA SHOULD BE PREPAIRED TO SEEK SHELTER AS THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
Special weather statement, Feb 3, 6:24 PM CST, 1 hour 43 minutes before
ALZ010-011-012-014-017-018-040000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MONTGOMERY AL 625 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 10 PM FOR AUTAUGA...LOWNDES... DALLAS...WILCOX AND BUTLER COUNTIES... AT 625 PM CST RADAR AT MONTGOMERY INDICATED SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER SOUTH ALABAMA. THUNDERSTORMS WERE ENTERING WEST AND NORTHWEST ALABAMA. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT AROUND 30 MILES AN HOUR. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO SOUTH ALABAMA LATER THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. PERSONS IN SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ALABAMA SHOULD REMAIN WEATHER ALERT TONIGHT AND LISTEN NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR LATER STAtTEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Local storm report, Feb 3, 7:28 PM CST, 39 minutes before
STORM REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 725 PM CST SAT FEB 03 1990 ...AT 635 PM CST...TUSCALOOSA POLICE REPORTS PUBLIC SIGHTING OF A TORNADO SOUTHEAST OF GRODO NEAR THE COMUNITY OF FLATWOOD IN PICKINS COUNTY. ...AT 650 PM CST...TUSCALOOSA EMA REPORTS "EXTREMELY HIGH WIND" NORTH OF THE CITY OF TUSCALOOSA. ALSO PEA SIZED HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN. ...AT 650 PM CST...BIRMINGHAM AMATEUR RADIO CLUB (HAM) REPORTS SEVERAL TREES DOWN...ALONG WITH POWER LINES ON HIGHWAY 171...8 MI NORTH OF TUSCALOOSA. ...AT 653 PM CST...BIRMINGHAM AMATEUR RADIO REPORTS MOBILE HOME BLOWN OFF FOUNDATION IN WESTERN TUSCALOOSA COUNTY NEAR ELROD ON HIGHWAY 82. ...AT 710 PM CST...ALABAMA POWER REPORTS MAJOR POWER BREAK ON 115KV AT 700 PM NEAR BANKHEAD DAM IN TUSCALOOSA COUNTY. ...AT 715 PM CST...MONTGOMERY NWS DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES MESOCYCLONE IN WESTERN JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Special weather statement, Feb 3, 7:55 PM CST, 12 minutes before
ALZ001-002-004-005-040300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 755 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990 THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER HAS MOVED OUT OF THE NORTHWEST PART OF ALABAMA AND THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HAVE BEEN CLEARED FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WATCH NUMBER 017. LAUDERDALE...LIMESTONE...MADISON...COLBERT...LAWRENCE...MORGAN... MARION...WINSTON...CULLMAN...LAMAR...AND FAYETTE COUNTIES. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WATCH FOR THE REMAINDER OF MUCH OF CENTRAL AND NORTH ALABAMA IS STILL IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CST.
Special weather statement, Feb 3, 8:02 PM CST, 5 minutes before
ALZ001-002-004-005-040300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 755 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990 THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER HAS MOVED OUT OF THE NORTHWEST PART OF ALABAMA AND THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HAVE BEEN CLEARED FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WATCH NUMBER 017. FRANKLIN...LAUDERDALE...LIMESTONE...MADISON...COLBERT...LAWRENCE... MORGAN...MARION...WINSTON...CULLMAN...LAMAR...AND FAYETTE COUNTIES. THE SEVERE T#HUNDERSTORMS WATCH FOR THE REMAINDER OF MUCH OF CENTRAL AND NORTH ALABAMA IS STILL IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CST.
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, 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, 8:14 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.