Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 23, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 20, 1995Franklin County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 20, 1995, 8:51 PM CDT for Franklin County, Alabama. It was in force for 44 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 20, 1995, 8:51 PM CDT (01:51 UTC)
Expired
Apr 20, 1995, 9:35 PM CDT
In force
44 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Franklin County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 171 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 00:00Z on 1995-04-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1059 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1995-04-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 175 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
1059 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
943 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
175 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
177 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
4.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHSV 210151
TORHSV
ALC059-210300-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
851 PM CDT THU APR 20 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM CDT
FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...FRANKLIN COUNTY
 
AT 948 PM CDT RADAR AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN HUNTSVILLE
SHOWED A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER SOUTH FRANKLIN COUNTY.
 
MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.
 
TORNADO WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR LAUDERDALE COUNTY UNTIL 945
PM...AND FOR COLBERT AND LAWRENCE COUNTY UNTIL 930 PM CDT.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CpULVERT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 20, 7:38 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLamar52 min
Apr 20, 7:38 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXPickens16 min
Apr 20, 7:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin67 min
Apr 20, 8:05 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFayette, Marion55 min
Apr 20, 8:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert, Lawrence55 min
Apr 20, 8:26 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXColbert, Lawrence64 min
Apr 20, 8:28 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLamar32 min
Apr 20, 8:39 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLauderdale56 min
Apr 20, 8:53 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXWinston67 min
Apr 20, 8:57 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLamar33 min
Apr 20, 8:58 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarion32 min
Apr 20, 9:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens66 min
Apr 20, 9:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette64 min
Apr 20, 9:21 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLawrence69 min
Apr 20, 9:41 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLimestone64 min
Apr 20, 9:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene, Sumter58 min
Apr 20, 9:52 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMorgan68 min
Apr 20, 9:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman, Walker, Winston62 min
Apr 20, 9:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa62 min
Apr 20, 10:14 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFayette46 min
Apr 20, 10:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens42 min
Apr 20, 10:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa, Walker31 min
Apr 20, 10:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman63 min
Apr 20, 10:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan17 min
Apr 20, 11:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale55 min
Apr 20, 11:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb, Jefferson63 min
Apr 20, 11:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby58 min
Apr 20, 11:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount56 min
Apr 20, 11:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair55 min
Apr 21, 12:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton55 min
Apr 21, 12:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah55 min
Apr 21, 12:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo, Perry63 min
Apr 21, 12:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun, Talladega57 min
Apr 21, 12:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb, Jackson68 min
Apr 21, 12:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee45 min
Apr 21, 1:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton40 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.