Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 21, NWS Birmingham, AL

February 17, 1998Cleburne County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 17, 1998, 4:37 AM CST for Cleburne County, Alabama. It was in force for 63 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
Feb 17, 1998, 4:37 AM CST (10:37 UTC)
Expired
Feb 17, 1998, 5:40 AM CST
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Cleburne County, AL

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:41 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Feb 17, 2:00 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 100 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 1998-02-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 1998-02-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 334 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
468 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
334 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
408 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

436 
WUUS1 KBHM 171040 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC029-171140-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
437 AM CST TUE FEB 17 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 540 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...CLEBURNE COUNTY...

AT 435 AM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM EAST OF
TALLADEGA MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH TOWARDS HEFLIN.  THIS STORM MAY
PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND HIGH WINDS.

<<CALL TO ACTION>>
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE... SEEK REFUGE FROM THE STORM IN A
STRONG BUILDING. BOATERS ON AREA LAKES SHOULD TAKE SHELTER.
DAMAGING WIND... LARGE HAIL... VERY HEAVY RAIN... AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE ALL LIKELY. DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER TREES OR OTHER
ISOLATED TALL OBJECTS. THESE ATTRACT LIGHTNING. DO NOT DRIVE INTO
AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 17, 12:48 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas47 min
Feb 17, 1:13 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton47 min
Feb 17, 1:19 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga46 min
Feb 17, 1:45 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXAutauga50 min
Feb 17, 1:49 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXChilton56 min
Feb 17, 2:18 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby47 min
Feb 17, 2:22 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa, Talladega63 min
Feb 17, 2:31 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXCoosa, Talladega64 min
Feb 17, 2:37 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton18 min
Feb 17, 3:12 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton48 min
Feb 17, 3:36 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun64 min
Feb 17, 3:44 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Lowndes46 min
Feb 17, 3:54 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa46 min
Feb 17, 4:03 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa47 min
Feb 17, 4:19 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay51 min
Feb 17, 4:44 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRandolph51 min
Feb 17, 5:04 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa46 min
Feb 17, 5:25 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers50 min
Feb 17, 6:14 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers31 min
Feb 17, 4:08 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun, Cleburne62 min
Feb 17, 4:08 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay, Randolph62 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.