Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 75, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 27, 1996Marion County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 27, 1996, 7:09 PM CDT for Marion County, Alabama. It was in force for 66 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
May 27, 1996, 7:09 PM CDT (00:09 UTC)
Expired
May 27, 1996, 8:15 PM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Marion County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 27, 7:23 PM CDTHail 4.5Hackleburg, 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, 0.2 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 00:00Z on 1996-05-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 524 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 00:00Z on 1996-05-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 105 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
524 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-105 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1149 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
102 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 280013
TORBHM
ALC093-280115-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
709 PM CDT MON MAY 27 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...MARION COUNTY
 
AT 705 PM DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A TORNADO NEAR THE
MISSISSIPPI/ALABAMA BORDER ENTERING WESTERN MARION COUNTY. THE TORNADIC
STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH AND THIS TRACK WILL TAKE IT INTO THE
TOWNS OF SHOTSVILLE AND BEXAR AROUND 730 PM.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM AND YOU SHOULD TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.
 
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
May 27, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin57 min
May 27, 8:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan67 min
May 27, 9:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette, Walker42 min
May 28, 1:13 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone62 min
May 28, 1:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan57 min
May 28, 1:42 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison63 min
May 28, 2:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall63 min
May 28, 2:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion62 min
May 28, 2:46 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin59 min
May 28, 2:49 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount56 min
May 28, 2:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar65 min
May 28, 3:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah60 min
May 28, 3:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence, Winston66 min
May 28, 3:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee45 min
May 28, 3:44 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker46 min
May 28, 4:22 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson53 min
May 28, 5:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale64 min
May 28, 5:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale50 min
May 28, 6:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore51 min
May 28, 7:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes32 min
May 28, 10:21 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale, Tuscaloosa69 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.