Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 18, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 6, 1996, 5:11 AM CST for Montgomery County, Alabama. It was in force for 49 min. 6 reports 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
- Mar 6, 1996, 5:11 AM CST (11:11 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 6, 1996, 6:00 AM CST
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Montgomery County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 5:12 AM CST | Tornado F1 | Montgomery, AL | |
| Mar 6, 5:14 AM CST | Tornado F1 | Montgomery, AL | |
| Mar 6, 5:15 AM CST | Hail 0.75 | Montgomery, AL | |
| Mar 6, 5:16 AM CST | Tornado F1 | Montgomery, AL | |
| Mar 6, 5:16 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 65 | Montgomery, AL | |
| Mar 6, 5:20 AM CST | Tornado F2 | Montgomery, 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, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 119 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
- 1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1011 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 249 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 322 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 061113 TORBHM ALC101-061200- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 511 AM CST WED MAR 6 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN CENTRAL ALABAMA ...MONTGOMERY COUNTY THIS UPGRADES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING THAT WAS ISSUED AT 458 AM CST. RADAR CONTINUED TO SHOW RAPID CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE THUNDERSTORM MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN MONTGOMERY COUNTY WITH A STRONG POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES AND DAMAGING WIND. 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.
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, Mar 6, 4:37 AM CST, 34 minutes before
ALZALL-GAZ089-090-102-120-FLZ001>015-061115- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 436 AM CST (536 AM EST) WED MAR 6 1996 ...RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS ALABAMA...WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA... AND THE WESTERN PANHANDLE OF FLORIDA... A STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM CONTINUES TO MOVE ACROSS PARTS OF ALABAMA...AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS MORNING. THIS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WAS INTERACTING WITH THE WARM...MOIST...UNSTABLE... ACROSS THE AREA. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THESE REST OF THE MORNING ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF ALABAMA AND INTO WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA. THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF LARGE HAIL ASSOCIATED WITH STORMS THIS MORNING AND DAMAGE TO TRAILERS IN DALLAS COUNTY ALABAMA. THE THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND TORNADOES IS REAL AND YOU SHOULD TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS FOR THE SEVERE WEATHER NOW. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF EAST AND SOUTHEAST ALABAMA THROUGH 1000 AM THIS MORNING. THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL EXIT THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...A SECOND STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY MORNING BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND OF SEVERE WEATHER. THE ATMOSPHERE ACROSS ALABAMA...WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA WILL CONTINUE TO BE WARM AND UNSTABLE. THE MAIN THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER THROUGH THE NIGHTTIME HOURS WILL BE ACROSS THE PARTS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA...BUT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE WEATHER TO OCCUR ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF ALABAMA...WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA AND THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE. DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT PLEASE KEEP UPDATED ON THIS DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION THROUGH THURSDAY.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 6:06 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 54 min |
| Mar 5, 9:04 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 41 min |
| Mar 5, 9:34 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 41 min |
| Mar 5, 9:45 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin, Lawrence | 60 min |
| Mar 5, 10:21 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Morgan | 69 min |
| Mar 6, 12:56 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 64 min |
| Mar 6, 1:26 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale | 3 hr |
| Mar 6, 2:15 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Sumter | 45 min |
| Mar 6, 3:44 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Perry | 31 min |
| Mar 6, 3:52 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Dallas | 53 min |
| Mar 6, 3:59 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton | 46 min |
| Mar 6, 4:12 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Autauga | 48 min |
| Mar 6, 4:19 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lowndes | 41 min |
| Mar 6, 4:58 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lowndes | 47 min |
| Mar 6, 5:03 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 57 min |
| Mar 6, 5:27 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Bullock, Macon | 63 min |
| Mar 6, 5:51 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lee, Russell | 69 min |
| Mar 6, 6:37 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour, Bullock | 38 min |
| Mar 6, 7:31 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 3 hr |
| Mar 6, 8:50 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Barbour | 40 min |
| Mar 6, 12:54 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lawrence | 66 min |
| Mar 6, 1:39 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 66 min |
| Mar 6, 2:10 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Walker | 50 min |
| Mar 6, 2:37 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cullman | 53 min |
| Mar 6, 2:52 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount, Jefferson | 38 min |
| Mar 6, 3:14 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount, Jefferson | 46 min |
| Mar 6, 3:19 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 41 min |
| Mar 6, 3:26 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 49 min |
| Mar 6, 4:11 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Talladega | 34 min |
| Mar 6, 4:40 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Talladega | 35 min |
| Mar 6, 4:52 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Clay, Cleburne | 53 min |
| Mar 6, 4:56 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 49 min |
| Mar 6, 4:58 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lauderdale, Limestone | 62 min |
| Mar 6, 5:22 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison | 68 min |
| Mar 6, 5:31 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Limestone | 59 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.