Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Birmingham, AL

January 30, 1996Sumter County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Jan 30, 1996, 5:43 PM CST for Sumter County, Alabama. It was in force for 47 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
Jan 30, 1996, 5:43 PM CST (23:43 UTC)
Expired
Jan 30, 1996, 6:30 PM CST
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Sumter County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 30, 6:20 PM CSTHail 0.75Bellamy, 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 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 148 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 1996-01-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 9 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 12:00Z on 1996-01-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 110 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
9 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-73 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
496 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
110 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
184 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 302347
TORBHM
ALC119-310030-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
543 PM CST TUE JAN 30 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  630 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA
 
   ...SOUTHERN SUMTER COUNTY
 
AT 543 PM CST...THERE ARE PUBLIC REPORTS OF A TORNADO ON GROUND IN
EASTERN LAUDERDALE COUNTY MISSISSIPPI NEAR RUSSELL. THIS TORNADO IS
EXPECTED NEAR CUBA AROUND 555 PM. THE TRACK SHOULD TAKE IT ACROSS
CUBA..YORK AND BELLAMY...OR ALONG U.S. HIGHWAY 80. MOVEMENT EAST AT 30
MPH.
 
 
 
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO.  CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS.  IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF
A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING.  IF NO
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 30, 5:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter42 min
Jan 30, 5:38 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene52 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.