Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Birmingham, AL

February 9, 1990Lamar County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 9, 1990, 9:23 PM CST for Lamar County, Alabama. It was in force for 37 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 9, 1990, 9:23 PM CST (03:23 UTC)
Expired
Feb 9, 1990, 10:00 PM CST
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Lamar 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Feb 9, 9:45 PM CSTThunderstorm Wind 0Lamar, 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, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 128 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 1990-02-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 897 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Centreville/Bibb, AL at 00:00Z on 1990-02-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 282 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
897 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
603 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
282 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
340 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.5
Supercell composite
7.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 100323
TORBHM
ALC075-100400-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
923 PM CST FRI FEB 9 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
 
   ...LAMAR COUNTY
 
AT 922 PM CST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO
IN SOUTHERN LAMAR COUNTY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.
 
 
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 9, 8:29 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale61 min
Feb 9, 8:45 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLamar30 min
Feb 9, 8:56 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette34 min
Feb 9, 9:30 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXFayette30 min
Feb 9, 9:43 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXWalker47 min
Feb 9, 10:08 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLimestone27 min
Feb 9, 10:22 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMadison68 min
Feb 9, 10:53 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJackson, Madison37 min
Feb 9, 11:02 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXWalker28 min
Feb 9, 11:16 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXColbert, Lauderdale4 hr
Feb 9, 11:28 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXCullman, Winston47 min
Feb 9, 11:35 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXWalker40 min
Feb 9, 11:35 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLamar40 min
Feb 10, 12:53 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXWalker22 min
Feb 10, 12:53 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson37 min
Feb 10, 1:06 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens69 min
Feb 10, 1:22 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene68 min
Feb 10, 1:30 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXColbert, Franklin, Lawrence5 hr
Feb 10, 1:30 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLimestone, Madison, Marshall, Morgan5 hr
Feb 10, 1:30 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXLauderdale5 hr
Feb 10, 1:30 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXDeKalb, Jackson5 hr
Feb 10, 1:33 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa57 min
Feb 10, 1:53 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale67 min
Feb 10, 2:00 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXGreene, Hale35 min
Feb 10, 2:06 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo29 min
Feb 10, 2:19 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson56 min
Feb 10, 2:20 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb55 min
Feb 10, 2:32 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby58 min
Feb 10, 2:39 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton51 min
Feb 10, 2:40 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson, Shelby30 min
Feb 10, 2:50 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXSt. Clair55 min
Feb 10, 2:54 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXTalladega66 min
Feb 10, 3:11 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXClay64 min
Feb 10, 3:11 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun64 min
Feb 10, 3:33 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne, Randolph37 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.