Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 286, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 1998, 3:47 PM CDT for Cherokee County, DeKalb County, Alabama. It was in force for 63 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
- May 3, 1998, 3:47 PM CDT (20:47 UTC)
- Expired
- May 3, 1998, 4:50 PM CDT
- In force
- 63 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Cherokee County, AL, DeKalb County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 4:00 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Collinsville, AL | One inch hail was reported in Collinsville by the EMA. |
| May 3, 4:11 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Gaylesville, AL | Golf ball size hail was reported in Gaylesville. |
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
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 153 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
- 239 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -118 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1307 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 100 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 174 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 032047 RRA SVRBHM ALC019-049-032150- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 347 PM CDT SUN MAY 3 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... CHEROKEE COUNTY... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA DEKALB COUNTY... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA * UNTIL 450 PM CDT * AT 345 PM CDT... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING LARGE HAIL WAS SHOWN...BY WEATHER RADAR NEAR COLLINSVILLE. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL AFFECT MAINLY SOUTHERN DEKALB AND NORTHERN CHEROKEE COUNTIES THROUGH 450 PM. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!
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, May 3, 10:00 AM CDT, 5 hours 47 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-032300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1000 AM CDT SUN MAY 3 1998 A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO WEST ALABAMA LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND ACROSS THE STATE DURING THE EVENING HOURS. THE AIRMASS ACROSS THE REGION IS MODERATELY UNSTABLE AND THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS THE AREA UNDER A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. AS THE FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON HEATING. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE...PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE STORMS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE WELL INTO THE EVENING HOURS. STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL TV AND RADIO FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. 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/
Special weather statement, May 3, 10:00 AM CDT, 5 hours 47 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-032300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1000 AM CDT SUN MAY 3 1998 A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO WEST ALABAMA LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND ACROSS THE STATE DURING THE EVENING HOURS. THE AIRMASS ACROSS THE REGION IS MODERATELY UNSTABLE AND THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS THE AREA UNDER A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. AS THE FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON HEATING. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE...PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE STORMS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE WELL INTO THE EVENING HOURS. STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL TV AND RADIO FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. 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/
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 2:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marengo | 46 min |
| May 3, 2:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Dallas, Perry | 63 min |
| May 3, 2:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga | 49 min |
| May 3, 2:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Talladega | 48 min |
| May 3, 2:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour | 49 min |
| May 3, 3:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marengo | 49 min |
| May 3, 3:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Elmore | 48 min |
| May 3, 3:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cleburne | 47 min |
| May 3, 3:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Macon, Tallapoosa | 47 min |
| May 3, 3:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lowndes | 46 min |
| May 3, 3:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga, Dallas | 47 min |
| May 3, 3:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 65 min |
| May 3, 3:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Perry | 36 min |
| May 3, 3:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb, Tuscaloosa | 46 min |
| May 3, 4:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Macon | 49 min |
| May 3, 4:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Elmore | 47 min |
| May 3, 4:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Russell | 64 min |
| May 3, 4:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Coosa, Tallapoosa | 48 min |
| May 3, 4:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 20 min |
| May 3, 4:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton | 63 min |
| May 3, 4:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Dallas | 36 min |
| May 3, 4:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb | 18 min |
| May 3, 4:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour | 46 min |
| May 3, 4:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bullock, Pike | 65 min |
| May 3, 4:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb | 33 min |
| May 3, 5:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers | 65 min |
| May 3, 5:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Randolph | 62 min |
| May 3, 5:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lee | 48 min |
| May 3, 5:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton | 50 min |
| May 3, 5:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour | 60 min |
| May 3, 5:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay, Talladega | 49 min |
| May 3, 6:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay | 34 min |
| May 3, 6:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Randolph | 61 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.