Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 55, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 18, 1995Lauderdale County, Lawrence County, Limestone County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1995, 5:10 PM CDT for Lauderdale County, Lawrence County, Limestone County, Alabama. It was in force for 65 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: May 18, 1995, 5:10 PM CDT (22:10 UTC)
Expired: May 18, 1995, 6:15 PM CDT
In force: 65 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Lauderdale County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Limestone County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 18, 5:33 PM CDT	Tornado F4	Limestone, AL	A supercell thunderstorm produced a violent tornado that began 3 miles northwest of Athens in Limestone County and moved on a path just slightly north of east completely across Madison County before ending in northwestern Jackson County about 15 miles northwes

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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 167 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1151 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 674 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 178 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 189 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.3
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 182210
TORHSV
ALC077-079-083-182315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
510 PM CDT THU MAY 18 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...EASTERN LAUDERDALE COUNTY...NORTHWESTERN LAWRENCE COUNTY
   ...NORTHWESTERN LIMESTONE COUNTY
 
AT 505 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN HUNTSVILLE INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN NORTEAST COLBERT...EASTERN LAUDERDALE COUNTIES IN
NORTH ALABAMA.
 
THIS STORM IS MOVING TO THE EAST NORTHEAST AT AROUND 40 MILES PER HOUR.
 
 
 
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 18, 3:41 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Colbert	64 min
May 18, 3:41 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Franklin	39 min
May 18, 4:15 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Lauderdale	60 min
May 18, 4:41 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Colbert	64 min
May 18, 5:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Limestone	47 min
May 18, 5:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Sumter	43 min
May 18, 5:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Madison	63 min
May 18, 5:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Franklin	55 min
May 18, 5:54 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Sumter	51 min
May 18, 6:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Marengo	66 min
May 18, 6:26 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale	64 min
May 18, 6:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Hale	69 min
May 18, 6:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Lawrence	57 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1995 Every tornado warning in 1995 Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.