Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 20, 1995Lamar County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 20, 1995, 4:17 PM CDT for Lamar County, Alabama. It was in force for 23 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 20, 1995, 4:17 PM CDT (21:17 UTC)
Expired
Apr 20, 1995, 4:40 PM CDT
In force
23 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Lamar County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 139 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1995-04-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1995-04-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 69 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1511 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
92 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 KBHM 202117 RRA
TORBHM
ALC093-057-075-202200-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
417 PM CDT THU APR 20 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  500 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...SOUTHERN MARION COUNTY
 
IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA
 
   ...FAYETTE COUNTY...EASTERN LAMAR COUNTY
 
AT 416 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM OVER EAST LAMAR COUNTY 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SULLIGENT.
DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES A TORNADO ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM. THE STORM
WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL AFFECT WAYSIDE...
WINFIELD...GU-WIN AND GUIN.
 
THIS WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING ISSUED EARLIER FOR
THESE COUNTIES.
 
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO 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.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 20, 3:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar41 min
Apr 20, 4:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette, Marion40 min
Apr 20, 4:17 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFayette, Marion43 min
Apr 20, 4:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston45 min
Apr 20, 5:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence69 min
Apr 20, 6:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Marion58 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995

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.