Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 71, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 29, 1996Elmore County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 29, 1996, 2:39 PM CDT for Elmore County, Alabama. It was in force for 36 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
Apr 29, 1996, 2:39 PM CDT (19:39 UTC)
Expired
Apr 29, 1996, 3:15 PM CDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Elmore County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 29, 2:45 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 55Eclectic, 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, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 88 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 1996-04-29Temperature 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°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1996-04-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 98 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
9 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-385 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1052 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
142 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 KBHM 291941
TORBHM
ALC051-292015-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
239 PM CDT MON APR 29 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  315 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN CENTRAL ALABAMA
 
   ...ELMORE COUNTY
 
AT 239 PM RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER CENTRAL ELMORE COUNTY
NORTH OF WETUMKA NEAR ECLECTIC MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
 
 
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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 29, 12:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert57 min
Apr 29, 1:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale58 min
Apr 29, 1:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas65 min
Apr 29, 1:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Marion55 min
Apr 29, 1:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens55 min
Apr 29, 1:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette25 min
Apr 29, 1:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter62 min
Apr 29, 1:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Elmore, Montgomery54 min
Apr 29, 2:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Montgomery43 min
Apr 29, 2:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence56 min
Apr 29, 2:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell53 min
Apr 29, 2:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone64 min
Apr 29, 2:52 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCoosa, Tallapoosa68 min
Apr 29, 2:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan66 min
Apr 29, 3:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison66 min
Apr 29, 3:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay, Randolph58 min
Apr 29, 3:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers47 min
Apr 29, 3:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall64 min
Apr 29, 3:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne48 min
Apr 29, 4:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount39 min
Apr 29, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell30 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.