Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Mobile, AL

December 3, 1990Mobile County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Dec 3, 1990, 7:39 AM CST for Mobile County, Alabama. It was in force for 66 min. 2 reports 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
Dec 3, 1990, 7:39 AM CST (13:39 UTC)
Expired
Dec 3, 1990, 8:45 AM CST
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Mobile 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
Dec 3, 7:45 AM CSTThunderstorm Wind 0Mobile, AL
Dec 3, 8:02 AM CSTTornado F0Mobile, 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

Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), launched 12:00Z, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 164 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, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1990-12-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 143 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1990-12-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 233 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
143 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-130 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
763 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
233 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
279 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 031339
TORMOB
ALC097-031445-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
739 AM CST MON DEC 3 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA
 
   ...MOBILE COUNTY
 
 
 
 
AT 735 AM CST RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM CITRONELLE
ALABAMA TO HURLEY MISSISSIPPI. A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED
8 MILES WEST OF MOBILE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 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 INTERInOR 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 Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 3, 7:18 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBMobile57 min
Dec 3, 8:20 AM CSTTornado WarningMOBBaldwin55 min
Dec 3, 9:03 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBButler, Covington57 min
Dec 3, 9:20 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBConecuh25 min
Dec 3, 9:57 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBCovington, Crenshaw63 min
Dec 3, 10:25 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBCoffee, Pike65 min
Dec 3, 10:51 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBBarbour, Dale69 min
Dec 3, 10:51 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBGeneva, Houston69 min
Dec 3, 11:05 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBHenry55 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.