Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 149, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 1998, 5:27 PM CST for Marshall County, Alabama. It was in force for 33 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 3, 1998, 5:27 PM CST (23:27 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 3, 1998, 6:00 PM CST
- In force
- 33 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Marshall County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 5:55 PM CST | Hail 0.75 | Albertville, AL | Dime size hail was reported near Albertville by the EMA. |
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
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 139 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
- 216 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -127 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 619 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 355 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 434 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 6.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
998 WUUS1 KBHM 032329 RRA SVRBHM ALC095-040000- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 527 PM CST FRI APR 3 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA ...MARSHALL COUNTY... AT 525 PM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NORTH OF GUNTERSVILLE...AND ANOTHER SEVERE STORM OVER EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN MARSHALL COUNTY NEAR ARAB. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS. <<CALL TO ACTION>> A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER... SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
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
Local storm report, Apr 3, 3:42 PM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
342 PM CST FRI APR 03 1998
TIME(CST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0230 PM OWENS XRDS AL .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98 MADISON DIME SIZE HAIL WAS
REPORTED IN OWENS
CROSSROADS.
0243 PM WOODVILLE AL 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98 JACKSON GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL WAS
REPORTED IN WOODVILLE.
0320 PM OMAHA GA TORNADO
04/03/98 STEWART A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ON
THE GROUND NEAR THE OMAHA
COMMUNITY.
0327 PM HIGDON AL .88 INCH HAIL
04/03/98 JACKSON NICKEL HAIL WAS REPORTED
IN HIGDON.Local storm report, Apr 3, 3:42 PM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
342 PM CST FRI APR 03 1998
TIME(CST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0230 PM OWENS XRDS AL .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98 MADISON DIME SIZE HAIL WAS
REPORTED IN OWENS
CROSSROADS.
0243 PM WOODVILLE AL 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/03/98 JACKSON GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL WAS
REPORTED IN WOODVILLE.
0320 PM OMAHA GA TORNADO
04/03/98 STEWART A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ON
THE GROUND NEAR THE OMAHA
COMMUNITY.
0327 PM HIGDON AL .88 INCH HAIL
04/03/98 JACKSON NICKEL HAIL WAS REPORTED
IN HIGDON.Special weather statement, Apr 3, 5:20 PM CST, 7 minutes before
ALZ004>005-014-032345- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 520 PM CST FRI APR 3 1998 THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTH ALABAMA... LIMESTONE...LAWRENCE...AND WINSTON THE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NINE COUNTIES TO THE EAST OF THE CLEARED COUNTIES.
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 5:20 PM CST, 7 minutes before
ALZ004>005-014-032345- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 520 PM CST FRI APR 3 1998 THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTH ALABAMA... LIMESTONE...LAWRENCE...AND WINSTON THE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NINE COUNTIES TO THE EAST OF THE CLEARED COUNTIES.
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, 2:29 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jackson, Madison | 46 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, 5:47 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.