Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Birmingham, AL

February 3, 1990Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 3, 1990, 9:26 PM CST for Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 34 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Feb 3, 1990, 9:26 PM CST (03:26 UTC)
Expired
Feb 3, 1990, 10:00 PM CST
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Shelby 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 00:00Z, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 64 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 00:00Z on 1990-02-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 297 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 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 00:00Z on 1990-02-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 139 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 040327
TORBHM
ALC117-040400-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
926 PM CST SAT FEB 3 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...SHELBY COUNTY
 
AT 924 PM CST A TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY RADAR IN SOUTHWEST SHELBY
COUNTY MOVING EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. THE POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS NEAR
CALERA AND WAS MOVING TOWARD COLUMBIANA.
 
 
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
Feb 3, 6:22 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa53 min
Feb 3, 6:59 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson46 min
Feb 3, 7:23 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby67 min
Feb 3, 7:41 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson49 min
Feb 3, 8:07 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXSt. Clair68 min
Feb 3, 8:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega61 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.