Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 33, NWS Mobile, AL

October 4, 1995Covington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 4, 1995, 1:41 PM CDT for Covington County, Alabama. It was in force for 64 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
Oct 4, 1995, 1:41 PM CDT (18:41 UTC)
Expired
Oct 4, 1995, 2:45 PM CDT
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Covington County, AL

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:44 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Oct 4, 1:45 PM CDTTornado F0Andalusia, ALA tornado briefly touched down on U.S. Highway 12 between Andalusia and River Falls. Several trees and power lines were blown down.

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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 217 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 1995-10-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 34 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1995-10-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 124 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
34 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-81 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
536 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
124 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
78 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 041842
TORMOB
ALC039-041945-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
141 PM CDT WED OCT 4 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  245 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH ALABAMA
 
   ...COVINGTON COUNTY
 
AT 140 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO PRODUCING
THUNDERSTORM JUST NORTH OF FLORALA. THIS STORM WILL MOVE NORTHWEST
TOWARDS ANDALUSIA AND RED LEVEL DURING THROUGH 245 PM.
 
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 CULVERT.
 
 
 
&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 4, 9:52 AM CDTTornado WarningMOBCovington53 min
Oct 4, 12:15 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBEscambia60 min
Oct 4, 6:23 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBCovington, Escambia67 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.