Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Mobile, AL

March 15, 1990Baldwin County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 15, 1990, 4:13 PM CST for Baldwin County, Alabama. It was in force for 32 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
Mar 15, 1990, 4:13 PM CST (22:13 UTC)
Expired
Mar 15, 1990, 4:45 PM CST
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Baldwin 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
Mar 15, 4:28 PM CSTTornado F0Baldwin, 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

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 192 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 12:00Z on 1990-03-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Slidell Radar S, LA at 12:00Z on 1990-03-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 82 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3603 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
70 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
130 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 152215
TORMOB
ALC003-152245-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
413 PM CST THU MAR 15 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  445 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA
 
   ...SOUTHERN BALDWIN COUNTY
 
 
 
 
AT 412 PM A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR SUMMERDALE. IT HAS
ALREADY PRODUCED DAMAGE AT WEEKS BAY AND NEAR SUMMERDALE. IT WAS
MOVING TOWARD 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 INTERIOR ROO
M
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
Mar 15, 10:58 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningMOBMobile3 hr
Mar 15, 1:07 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningMOBMobile3 hr
Mar 15, 3:11 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningMOBBaldwin3 hr

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.