Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 16, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 17, 1998, 3:36 AM CST for Calhoun County, Alabama. It was in force for 64 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
- Feb 17, 1998, 3:36 AM CST (09:36 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 17, 1998, 4:40 AM CST
- In force
- 64 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Calhoun County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 3:55 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Jacksonville, AL | Wind damaged several large signs and knocked over a few old trees. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 2:00 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 110 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
- 572 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -33 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 635 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 255 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 271 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.9
- Supercell composite
- 5.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
071 WUUS1 KBHM 170939 RRA SVRBHM ALC015-171040- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 336 AM CST TUE FEB 17 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 440 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA ...CALHOUN COUNTY... AT 335 AM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR THE TALLADEGA SPEEDWAY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. QUARTER-SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED WITH THIS STORM. THE STORM IS MOVING TOWARD HOBSON CITY. <<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.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 12:48 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Dallas | 47 min |
| Feb 17, 1:13 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton | 47 min |
| Feb 17, 1:19 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga | 46 min |
| Feb 17, 1:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Autauga | 50 min |
| Feb 17, 1:49 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Chilton | 56 min |
| Feb 17, 2:18 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 47 min |
| Feb 17, 2:22 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Coosa, Talladega | 63 min |
| Feb 17, 2:31 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Coosa, Talladega | 64 min |
| Feb 17, 2:37 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton | 18 min |
| Feb 17, 3:12 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton | 48 min |
| Feb 17, 3:44 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga, Lowndes | 46 min |
| Feb 17, 3:54 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Coosa | 46 min |
| Feb 17, 4:03 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 47 min |
| Feb 17, 4:19 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay | 51 min |
| Feb 17, 4:37 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cleburne | 63 min |
| Feb 17, 4:44 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Randolph | 51 min |
| Feb 17, 5:04 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 46 min |
| Feb 17, 5:25 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers | 50 min |
| Feb 17, 6:14 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers | 31 min |
| Feb 17, 4:08 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Cleburne | 62 min |
| Feb 17, 4:08 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay, Randolph | 62 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.