Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 248, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 17, 1998Barbour County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 17, 1998, 3:10 PM CDT for Barbour County, Alabama. It was in force for 50 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 17, 1998, 3:10 PM CDT (20:10 UTC)
Expired
Apr 17, 1998, 4:00 PM CDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Barbour County, AL

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 46 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:13 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 nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 187 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 12:00Z on 1998-04-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1255 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 1998-04-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 165 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
1255 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
526 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
227 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.8
Supercell composite
6.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

559 
WUUS1 KBHM 172011
SVRBHM
ALC005-172100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
310 PM CDT FRI APR 17 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  BARBOUR COUNTY... IN SOUTHEASTERN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 400 PM CDT

* AT 308 PM CDT... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS SHOWN...BY WEATHER RADAR
NEAR THE TOWN OF GAINO.  THIS STORM IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MILES
PER HOUR.  THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...EAUFAULA BY 315 PM CDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM STAY INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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 17, 10:30 AM CDT, 4 hours 40 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-172300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1030 AM CDT FRI APR 17 1998

A COLD FRONT FROM MOBILE TO MONTGOMERY WILL CONTINUE TO SLIDE SLOWLY
SOUTHEASTWARD TODAY.  COOLER AND STABLE AIR BEHIND THE FRONT WILL
INHIBIT ANY STRONG THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT TODAY.  A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT THIS AFTERNOON...GENERALLY
SOUTH OF THE MONTGOMERY AND AUBURN AREAS.   A RAIN EVENT IS SHAPING
UP FOR THE AREA TONIGHT AND SATURDAY AS MOISTURE BEGINS TO RIDE OVER
THE FRONT.  SOME AREAS COULD HAVE SOME SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL THIS
WEEKEND.
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 10:30 AM CDT, 4 hours 40 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-172300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1030 AM CDT FRI APR 17 1998

A COLD FRONT FROM MOBILE TO MONTGOMERY WILL CONTINUE TO SLIDE SLOWLY
SOUTHEASTWARD TODAY.  COOLER AND STABLE AIR BEHIND THE FRONT WILL
INHIBIT ANY STRONG THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT TODAY.  A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT THIS AFTERNOON...GENERALLY
SOUTH OF THE MONTGOMERY AND AUBURN AREAS.   A RAIN EVENT IS SHAPING
UP FOR THE AREA TONIGHT AND SATURDAY AS MOISTURE BEGINS TO RIDE OVER
THE FRONT.  SOME AREAS COULD HAVE SOME SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL THIS
WEEKEND.
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 3:00 PM CDT, 10 minutes before
ALZ001>064-FLZ001>015-172300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
300 PM CDT FRI APR 17 1998

...SEVERE WEATHER TO AFFECT THE GULF COAST STATES THIS WEEKEND...

...HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTH ALABAMA SATURDAY AND SATURDAY
NIGHT...

A COOL FRONT ACROSS SOUTH ALABAMA IS EXPECTED TO MOVE BACK NORTHWARD
ON SATURDAY AS A SURFACE LOW DEVELOPS NEAR THE ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI
BORDER.  SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE AS THE WARM FRONT ADVANCES
NORTHWARD...BRINGING MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR RAPIDLY BACK INTO THE
REGION. THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS OUTLOOKED ALL OF ALABAMA AND
NORTHWEST FLORIDA FOR A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR
SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING.  STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL
DEVELOP OVER SOUTHERN ALABAMA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA DURING THE LATE
MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS.  THE STORMS WILL THEN SPREAD
INTO NORTH ALABAMA AND WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA DURING THE AFTERNOON AND
EVENING HOURS.

FURTHER NORTH...ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY REGION...HEAVY RAINFALL IS
POSSIBLE SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT AS THIS AREA WILL STAY NORTH OF
THE WARM FRONT.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR LATER
UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 16, 7:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence49 min
Apr 16, 7:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert34 min
Apr 16, 7:11 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLamar49 min
Apr 16, 7:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale51 min
Apr 16, 7:35 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFayette45 min
Apr 16, 7:48 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLimestone47 min
Apr 16, 8:03 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXWalker47 min
Apr 16, 8:14 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison66 min
Apr 16, 8:29 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson61 min
Apr 16, 8:32 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXWinston48 min
Apr 16, 8:35 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCullman65 min
Apr 16, 8:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone34 min
Apr 16, 9:05 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBlount60 min
Apr 16, 9:32 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXEtowah63 min
Apr 16, 9:34 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson36 min
Apr 16, 9:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall50 min
Apr 16, 9:43 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXSt. Clair32 min
Apr 16, 10:05 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarshall35 min
Apr 16, 10:06 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb64 min
Apr 16, 10:13 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCherokee47 min
Apr 16, 10:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall32 min
Apr 16, 11:07 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb48 min
Apr 16, 11:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee50 min
Apr 17, 12:22 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson48 min
Apr 17, 12:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee44 min
Apr 17, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour47 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.