Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 140, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 1998, 2:29 PM CST for Jackson County, Madison County, Alabama. It was in force for 46 min. 2 reports 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 3, 1998, 2:29 PM CST (20:29 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 3, 1998, 3:15 PM CST
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Jackson County, AL, Madison County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2:32 PM CST | Hail 0.75 | Owens Xrds, AL | Dime size hail was reported in Owens Crossroads. |
| Apr 3, 2:43 PM CST | Hail 1.75 | Woodville, AL | Golf ball size hail was reported in Woodville. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1:00 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 154 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 888 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 83 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 46 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
770 WUUS1 KBHM 032031 RRA SVRBHM ALC071-089-032115- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 229 PM CST FRI APR 3 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 315 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA ...JACKSON COUNTY... ...SOUTHEASTERN MADISON COUNTY... AT 229 PM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 2 MILES SOUTH OF OWENS CROSS ROADS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE... OWENS CROSS ROADS AROUND 228 PM CST... NEW HOPE AROUND 230 PM CST... GURLEY AROUND 238 PM CST... PAINT ROCK AROUND 240 PM CST... WOODVILLE AROUND 242 PM CST... GARTH AROUND 244 PM CST... SCOTTSBORO AROUND 259 PM CST... <<CALL TO ACTION>> SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH... DESTRUCTIVE HAIL... DEADLY LIGHTNING... AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO DONT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Apr 3, 9:48 AM CST, 4 hours 41 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-040325- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 948 AM CST FRI APR 3 1998 ...SEVERE WEATHER STILL POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY... A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS CONTINUES TO DOMINATE MOST OF ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS MORNING...AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT APPROACHING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE IS ALSO EXPECTED TO MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING OVER EASTERN ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS MORNING. MOST OF THIS PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST OF THE AREA BEFORE NOON... WITH SOME CLEARING DEVELOPING LATER THIS MORNING AND EARLY THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS WESTERN ALABAMA. THIS CLEARING WILL ALLOW THE AIRMASS TO DESTABILIZE FURTHER ACROSS THE AREA. WITH THE APPROACH OF THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM...ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER WESTERN AND NORTHERN ALABAMA BY EARLY AFTERNOON...SPREADING EASTWARD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. ALTHOUGH NO SEVERE WEATHER IS OCCURRING NOW...IT MUST BE STRESSED THAT INGREDIENTS ARE STILL IN PLACE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATER THIS MORNING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS...WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES. THE GREATEST RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE OVER THE NORTHERN THIRD OF ALABAMA...FROM ABOUT NOON TO 5 PM. HOWEVER...THE AIRMASS IS UNSTABLE OVER ALL OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA...AND A SEVERE THREAT DOES EXIST OVER THIS ENTIRE AREA TODAY. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND STORM SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE READY FOR ADDITIONAL ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. FOR THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...SEE PRODUCT BHMSPSMOB. FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA...SEE MIASPSTLH. FOR MORE WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT OUR INTERNET SITE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT HTTP://WWW.ACESAG.AUBURN.EDU/DEPARTMENT/NWS/
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 9:48 AM CST, 4 hours 41 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-040325- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 948 AM CST FRI APR 3 1998 ...SEVERE WEATHER STILL POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY... A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS CONTINUES TO DOMINATE MOST OF ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS MORNING...AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT APPROACHING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE IS ALSO EXPECTED TO MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN ALABAMA THIS AFTERNOON. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING OVER EASTERN ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS MORNING. MOST OF THIS PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST OF THE AREA BEFORE NOON... WITH SOME CLEARING DEVELOPING LATER THIS MORNING AND EARLY THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS WESTERN ALABAMA. THIS CLEARING WILL ALLOW THE AIRMASS TO DESTABILIZE FURTHER ACROSS THE AREA. WITH THE APPROACH OF THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM...ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER WESTERN AND NORTHERN ALABAMA BY EARLY AFTERNOON...SPREADING EASTWARD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. ALTHOUGH NO SEVERE WEATHER IS OCCURRING NOW...IT MUST BE STRESSED THAT INGREDIENTS ARE STILL IN PLACE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATER THIS MORNING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS...WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES. THE GREATEST RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE OVER THE NORTHERN THIRD OF ALABAMA...FROM ABOUT NOON TO 5 PM. HOWEVER...THE AIRMASS IS UNSTABLE OVER ALL OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA...AND A SEVERE THREAT DOES EXIST OVER THIS ENTIRE AREA TODAY. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND STORM SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE READY FOR ADDITIONAL ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. FOR THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...SEE PRODUCT BHMSPSMOB. FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA...SEE MIASPSTLH. FOR MORE WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT OUR INTERNET SITE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT HTTP://WWW.ACESAG.AUBURN.EDU/DEPARTMENT/NWS/
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 12:24 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Sumter | 46 min |
| Apr 3, 1:23 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 32 min |
| Apr 3, 1:30 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Greene, Hale | 50 min |
| Apr 3, 1:40 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 45 min |
| Apr 3, 2:01 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale | 49 min |
| Apr 3, 2:09 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb | 46 min |
| Apr 3, 2:49 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lauderdale | 16 min |
| Apr 3, 2:54 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay | 31 min |
| Apr 3, 2:40 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour, Russell | 50 min |
| Apr 3, 2:58 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Russell | 47 min |
| Apr 3, 3:04 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jackson | 36 min |
| Apr 3, 3:15 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | DeKalb | 50 min |
| Apr 3, 3:27 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 48 min |
| Apr 3, 4:00 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 50 min |
| Apr 3, 4:14 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Morgan | 36 min |
| Apr 3, 4:19 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison, Marshall | 31 min |
| Apr 3, 4:28 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison | 47 min |
| Apr 3, 4:32 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 33 min |
| Apr 3, 4:47 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jackson | 63 min |
| Apr 3, 5:27 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marshall | 33 min |
| Apr 3, 5:47 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | DeKalb, Jackson | 63 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1998Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1998
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.