Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1999
Tornado Warning 30, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 3, 1999, 1:46 AM CST for Bullock County, Macon County, Alabama. It was in force for 49 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
- Mar 3, 1999, 1:46 AM CST (07:46 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 3, 1999, 2:35 AM CST
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Bullock County, AL, Macon County, AL
The radar
The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 34 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:48 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 3, 1:50 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 55 | Notasulga, AL | A grocery store sustained minor damage when its front awning was torn off by wind gusts. Several trees were knocked down around the county. |
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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 11:15 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 145 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
- 25 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -117 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2113 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 99 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 278 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
999 WFUS1 KBHM 030745 RRA TORBHM ALC011-087-030835- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 146 AM CST WED MAR 3 1999 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED...A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... BULLOCK COUNTY... IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA... MACON COUNTY... IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA... * UNTIL 235 AM CST. * AT 144 AM CST... WEATHER RADAR DETECTED A TORNADO...IN EASTERN MONTGOMERY COUNTY NEAR THE MCDADE COMMUNITY. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AROUND 45 MPH...AND WILL MOVE NEAR THE MACON/BULLOCK COUNTY LINE. * COMMUNTIES IN THE PATH OF THE STORM INCLUDE HARDAWAY...ARMSTRONG... AND SEGEFIELD. * TORNADO WILL BE NEAR... GO TO THE BASEMENT...OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
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 2, 8:26 PM CST, 5 hours 20 minutes before
ALZ004>010-013>018-020-024>026-030300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 826 PM CST TUE MAR 2 1999 THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... IN ALABAMA ...LAWRENCE... LIMESTONE... MADISON... MORGAN... MARSHALL... JACKSON ...DEKALB... FAYETTE... WINSTON... WALKER... CULLMAN... BLOUNT ...ETOWAH... CHEROKEE... JEFFERSON... SHELBY... ST. CLAIR THE AIRMASS OVER THIS REGION HAS BECOME MORE STABLE THIS EVENING. ONLY GENERAL SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT.
Special weather statement, Mar 2, 8:26 PM CST, 5 hours 20 minutes before
ALZ004>010-013>018-020-024>026-030300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 826 PM CST TUE MAR 2 1999 THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... IN ALABAMA ...LAWRENCE... LIMESTONE... MADISON... MORGAN... MARSHALL... JACKSON ...DEKALB... FAYETTE... WINSTON... WALKER... CULLMAN... BLOUNT ...ETOWAH... CHEROKEE... JEFFERSON... SHELBY... ST. CLAIR THE AIRMASS OVER THIS REGION HAS BECOME MORE STABLE THIS EVENING. ONLY GENERAL SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT.
Special weather statement, Mar 2, 9:05 PM CST, 4 hours 41 minutes before
ALZ001>003-011-012-022-023-030340- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 905 PM CST TUE MAR 2 1999 THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... IN ALABAMA ...LAUDERDALE... COLBERT... FRANKLIN... MARION... LAMAR... PICKENS ...TUSCALOOSA
Special weather statement, Mar 2, 9:05 PM CST, 4 hours 41 minutes before
ALZ001>003-011-012-022-023-030340- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 905 PM CST TUE MAR 2 1999 THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... IN ALABAMA ...LAUDERDALE... COLBERT... FRANKLIN... MARION... LAMAR... PICKENS ...TUSCALOOSA
Local storm report, Mar 3, 1:39 AM CST, 7 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
139 AM CST WED MAR 03 1999
TIME(CST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0111 AM MONTGOMERY AL 74 MPH TSTM GUST
03/03/99 MONTGOMERY 64 KT GUST AT MAXWELL AFB
0115 AM BEECHWOOD AL WIND DAMAGE
03/03/99 LOWNDES TREES AND POWERLINES
DOWN...OUTBUILDINGS
DESTROYED. TIME
ESTIMATED.The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 7:31 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Sumter | 49 min |
| Mar 2, 7:54 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Greene | 46 min |
| Mar 2, 8:25 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Hale | 30 min |
| Mar 2, 8:55 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb | 60 min |
| Mar 2, 8:58 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Hale | 17 min |
| Mar 2, 9:32 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 48 min |
| Mar 3, 12:33 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga, Chilton, Dallas | 47 min |
| Mar 3, 12:49 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Autauga | 31 min |
| Mar 3, 1:01 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Elmore, Lowndes, Montgomery | 49 min |
| Mar 3, 1:13 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Talladega | 47 min |
| Mar 3, 1:24 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay | 31 min |
| Mar 3, 1:27 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Macon, Tallapoosa | 48 min |
| Mar 3, 1:37 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 33 min |
| Mar 3, 1:45 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers, Lee | 45 min |
| Mar 3, 1:57 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cleburne, Randolph | 33 min |
| Mar 3, 1:59 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pike | 31 min |
| Mar 3, 2:03 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Barbour | 47 min |
| Mar 3, 2:09 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Macon | 31 min |
| Mar 3, 2:21 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Russell | 49 min |
| Mar 3, 2:29 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers, Lee | 31 min |
| Mar 3, 2:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Barbour | 45 min |
| Mar 3, 3:12 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Russell | 18 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes in 1999
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.