Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 27, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 17, 1998, 4:08 PM CST for Clay County, Randolph County, Alabama. It was in force for 62 min. 2 reports 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, 4:08 PM CST (22:08 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 17, 1998, 5:10 PM CST
- In force
- 62 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Clay County, AL, Randolph County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 4:10 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Ashland, AL | There were some trees down in the southern part of the county. |
| Feb 17, 4:20 PM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 55 | Wedowee, AL | There was minor structural damage reported to the Court House in Wedowee, as well as some trees down and power outages. |
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 nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 105 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
- 165 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 556 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -125 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -124 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- -0.1
- Supercell composite
- -1.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
459 WUUS1 KBHM 172210 RRA SVRBHM ALC015-027-029-111-172310- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 408 PM CST TUE FEB 17 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 510 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA ...CALHOUN COUNTY... ...CLAY COUNTY... ...CLEBURNE COUNTY... ...RANDOLPH COUNTY... AT 406 PM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORM FROM THE PIEDMONT AREA TO HOLLINS. STORMS ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. THE STORMS WILL EFFECT MOST AREAS ACROSS THE MENTIONED COUNTIES. <<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
Special weather statement, Feb 17, 1:44 PM CST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-172200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 144 PM CST TUE FEB 17 1998 AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO SLOWLY TRACK ACROSS THE STATE THIS AFTERNOON. COLD AIR ASSOCIATED WITH THIS AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ALOFT...HAS CAUSED THE ATMOSPHERE TO BECOME UNSTABLE ONCE AGAIN. ALONG WITH THE UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE...WARM AIR AND MOISTURE AT THE SURFACE WILL HELP PRODUCE...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE HAIL. ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD NOT BE NECESSARY. FOR THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...SEE PRODUCT BHMSPSMOB. FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA...LOOK AT MIASPSTLH. FOR MORE WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT OUR INTERNET SITE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT HTTP://WWW.ACESAG.AUBURN.EDU/DEPARTMENT/NWS/INDEX.HTML
Special weather statement, Feb 17, 1:44 PM CST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-172200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 144 PM CST TUE FEB 17 1998 AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO SLOWLY TRACK ACROSS THE STATE THIS AFTERNOON. COLD AIR ASSOCIATED WITH THIS AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ALOFT...HAS CAUSED THE ATMOSPHERE TO BECOME UNSTABLE ONCE AGAIN. ALONG WITH THE UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE...WARM AIR AND MOISTURE AT THE SURFACE WILL HELP PRODUCE...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE HAIL. ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD NOT BE NECESSARY. FOR THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHWEST ALABAMA...SEE PRODUCT BHMSPSMOB. FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA...LOOK AT MIASPSTLH. FOR MORE WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT OUR INTERNET SITE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT HTTP://WWW.ACESAG.AUBURN.EDU/DEPARTMENT/NWS/INDEX.HTML
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, 3:36 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Calhoun | 64 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 |
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.