Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 151, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 3, 1998Marshall County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 1998, 6:05 PM CST for Marshall County, Alabama. It was in force for 35 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
Apr 3, 1998, 6:05 PM CST (00:05 UTC)
Expired
Apr 3, 1998, 6:40 PM CST
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Marshall County, AL

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 3, 1:00 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 1998-04-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 620 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 1998-04-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 126 square meters per square second.1939587897117136156Sfc1 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
620 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1655 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
89 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
126 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
272 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
3.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

189 
WUUS1 KBHM 040007 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC095-040040-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
605 PM CST FRI APR 3 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 640 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

   ...MARSHALL COUNTY...

AT 603 PM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
CENTRAL MARSHALL COUNTY...NEAR GUNTERSVILLE.  THIS STORM WAS MOVING
EAST AT 45 TO 50 MPH...AND WILL AFFECT EASTERN MARSHALL COUNTY THROUGH
630 PM.  DIME SIZE HAIL HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM IN PAST FEW
MINUTES.  STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO LIKELY.


<<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

Local storm report, Apr 3, 3:42 PM CST, 2 hours 23 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, 2 hours 23 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, 45 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, 45 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, 5:53 PM CST, 12 minutes before
ALZ006>007-016-040015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
553 PM CST FRI APR 3 1998

THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES
IN NORTH ALABAMA...

MADISON...MORGAN...AND CULLMAN.

THE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SIX COUNTIES TO THE EAST OF THE
CLEARED COUNTIES.
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 5:53 PM CST, 12 minutes before
ALZ006>007-016-040015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
553 PM CST FRI APR 3 1998

THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES
IN NORTH ALABAMA...

MADISON...MORGAN...AND CULLMAN.

THE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SIX COUNTIES TO THE EAST OF THE
CLEARED COUNTIES.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 3, 6:36 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee49 min
Apr 3, 6:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah33 min
Apr 3, 7:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa35 min
Apr 3, 7:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers33 min
Apr 3, 7:16 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXChambers29 min
Apr 3, 8:07 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers33 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.