Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 123, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Dec 1, 1996, 1:59 AM CST for Tallapoosa County, Alabama. It was in force for 46 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
- Dec 1, 1996, 1:59 AM CST (07:59 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 1, 1996, 2:45 AM CST
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Tallapoosa County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2:00 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Tallassee, 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.
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 98 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 53 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -56 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 521 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 288 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 363 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
687 WFUS1 KBHM 010800 RRA TORBHM ALC123-010845- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 159 AM CST SUN DEC 1 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 245 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA ...TALLAPOOSA COUNTY AT 159 AM RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CONTAINING A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER EASTERN ELMORE COUNTY NEAR TALLASSEE MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH. THIS STORM WILL MOVE INTO TALLAPOOSA COUNTY JUST SOUTH OF LAKE MARTIN BY 205 AM. ANOTHER POSSIBLE TORNADO IS ALSO OVER NORTHERN TALLAPOOSA COUNTY NEAR THE TOWN OF GOLDVILLE. THIS WARNING EXTENDS THE PREVIOUS TORNADO WARNING AND NOW INCLUDES THE ENTIRE COUNTY. 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 ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS... OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Dec 1, 12:29 AM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
ALZ004>007-013>016-023-032-010700- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1230 AM CST SUN DEC 1 1996 TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 1150 HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN WEST ALABAMA... LIMESTONE...LAWRENCE...WINSTON...WALKER...TUSCALOOSA AND HALE.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 30, 8:41 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin | 64 min |
| Nov 30, 8:51 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lauderdale | 69 min |
| Nov 30, 9:02 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin | 118 min |
| Nov 30, 9:02 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Lauderdale | 118 min |
| Nov 30, 9:47 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin | 58 min |
| Nov 30, 10:03 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lauderdale | 57 min |
| Nov 30, 10:11 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Dallas | 34 min |
| Nov 30, 10:25 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Chilton | 50 min |
| Nov 30, 10:57 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Coosa | 63 min |
| Nov 30, 11:23 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Talladega | 37 min |
| Nov 30, 11:28 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Clay | 47 min |
| Dec 1, 1:24 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 51 min |
| Dec 1, 1:35 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Coosa | 25 min |
| Dec 1, 1:38 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 37 min |
| Dec 1, 1:44 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Macon | 46 min |
| Dec 1, 1:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Elmore | 30 min |
| Dec 1, 1:49 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Clay | 41 min |
| Dec 1, 2:03 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Elmore, Montgomery | 117 min |
| Dec 1, 2:05 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Randolph | 40 min |
| Dec 1, 2:09 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Bullock | 36 min |
| Dec 1, 2:15 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Chambers | 45 min |
| Dec 1, 2:22 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lee | 38 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996
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.