Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 295, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 3, 1998Coosa County, Tallapoosa County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 1998, 4:27 PM CDT for Coosa County, Tallapoosa County, Alabama. It was in force for 48 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: May 3, 1998, 4:27 PM CDT (21:27 UTC)
Expired: May 3, 1998, 5:15 PM CDT
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Coosa County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL

The radar

The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 46 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:26 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 3, 4:46 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Alexander City, AL	Golf ball size hail was reported in Alexander City.

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
May 3, 2:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 77 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 446 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -80 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1216 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 127 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 165 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

287 
WUUS1 KBHM 032126 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC037-123-032215-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
427 PM CDT SUN MAY 3 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  COOSA COUNTY... IN CENTRAL ALABAMA
  TALLAPOOSA COUNTY... IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 515 PM CDT

* AT 425 PM CDT... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS SHOWN...BY WEATHER RADAR
NEAR COTTAGE GROVE MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL LIKELY AFFECT THE ALEXANDER CITY AND
JACKSONS GAP AREA.


DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING
AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF A
STORM APPROACHES.  MOTORISTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR REDUCED
VISIBILITIES DURING DOWNPOURS OF RAIN.  STREETS MAY FLOOD QUICKLY.

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, 3:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cherokee, DeKalb	63 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, 4:30 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, 1998 Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.