Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 93, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Sep 16, 1996, 7:34 PM CDT for Lowndes County, Alabama. It was in force for 26 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 16, 1996, 7:34 PM CDT (00:34 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 16, 1996, 8:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 26 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lowndes County, AL
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 115 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
- 1972 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -33 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 844 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 239 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 251 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 3.2
- Supercell composite
- 15.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 170035 TORBHM ALC085-170100- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 734 PM CDT MON SEP 16 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN CENTRAL ALABAMA ...SOUTHERN LOWNDES COUNTY AT 730 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO SHOW A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTHERN LOWNDES COUNTY IN THE FORT DEPOSIT AREA. RADAR STILL INDICATED THAT A TORNADO IS LIKELY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL AFFECT FORT DEPOSIT AND SANDY RIDGE. 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, Sep 16, 4:15 PM CDT, 3 hours 19 minutes before
ALZ001>057-170200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 413 PM CDT MON SEP 16 1996 TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 1022 FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN ALABAMA HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH A NEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 1024 UNTIL 900 PM CDT. BELOW IS A LISTING OF COUNTIES INCLUDED IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 1023 AND 1024. BOTH ARE IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM CDT. NORTH WEST CENTRAL CENTRAL EAST CENTRAL SOUTHWEST SOME CITIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE... ANNISTON ASHLAND ATHENS BIRMINGHAM BUTLER CAMDEN CARROLLTON CENTRE CENTREVILLE CLANTON COLUMBIANA CULLMAN DADEVILLE DECATUR DOUBLE SPRINGS EUTAW FAYETTE FLORENCE FORT PAYNE GADSDEN GREENSBORO GREENVILLE GROVE HILL GUNTERSVILLE HAMILTON HAYNEVILLE HEFLIN HUNTSVILLE JASPER LINDEN LIVINGSTON LUVERNE MARION MONTGOMERY MOULTON MUSCLE SHOALS ONEONTA PELL CITY PRATTVILLE ROCKFORD RUSSELLVILLE SCOTTSBORO SELMA TALLADEGA TUSCALOOSA VERNON WEDOWEE WETUMPKA IN ALABAMA THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... ALC077-033-059-079-083-089-103-095-071-049-093-133-043-009-055-019- 170200- ...NORTH... LAUDERDALE COLBERT FRANKLIN LAWRENCE LIMESTONE MADISON MORGAN MARSHALL JACKSON DEKALB MARION WINSTON CULLMAN BLOUNT ETOWAH CHEROKEE ALC075-057-107-125-119-063-065-091-170200- ...WEST CENTRAL... LAMAR FAYETTE PICKENS TUSCALOOSA SUMTER GREENE HALE MARENGO ALC127-073-117-115-121-105-007-021-037-047-001-085-051-101-170200- ...CENTRAL... WALKER JEFFERSON SHELBY ST. CLAIR TALLADEGA PERRY BIBB CHILTON COOSA DALLAS AUTAUGA LOWNDES ELMORE MONTGOMERY ALC015-029-027-111-123-170200- ...EAST CENTRAL... CALHOUN CLEBURNE CLAY RANDOLPH TALLAPOOSA ALC023-025-131-013-041-170200- ...SOUTHWEST... CHOCTAW CLARKE WILCOX BUTLER CRENSHAW
Special weather statement, Sep 16, 7:29 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 730 PM CDT MON SEP 16 1996 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH...NUMBER 1023...HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THAT WATCH INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL ALABAMA: MARION...WINSTON...CULLMAN...LAMAR...FAYETTE...WALKER...PICKENS... TUSCALOOSA...SUMTER...GREENE...HALE...AND CHOCTAW.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16, 7:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cleburne | 44 min |
| Sep 16, 7:09 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun | 51 min |
| Sep 16, 7:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bullock, Macon | 52 min |
| Sep 16, 7:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount | 46 min |
| Sep 16, 8:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pike | 54 min |
| Sep 16, 10:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay, Talladega | 40 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.