Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 335, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 6, 1998Clay County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 6, 1998, 7:33 PM CDT for Clay County, Alabama. It was in force for 47 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
May 6, 1998, 7:33 PM CDT (00:33 UTC)
Expired
May 6, 1998, 8:20 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Clay County, AL

The radar

The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:35 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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 86 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 1998-05-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 82 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 1998-05-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 253 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
82 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-160 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1288 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
253 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
560 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

941 
WUUS1 KBHM 070034 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC027-070120-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
733 PM CDT WED MAY 6 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CLAY COUNTY... IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 820 PM CDT

* AT 732 PM CDT... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS SHOWN...BY WEATHER RADAR
MOVING INTO NORTHERN AND WESTERN CLAY COUNTY.  THIS STORM WAS MOVING
SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.

THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF LARGE HAIL. GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING
AND STAY 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, May 6, 6:00 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
ALZ001>004-011-014-070000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
600 PM CDT WED MAY 6 1998

THE TORNADO WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN ALABAMA HAS BEEN
CANCELLED...

IN ALABAMA

LAUDERDALE...FRANKLIN...COLBERT...LAWRENCE...MARION AND WINSTON.

OTHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
ACROSS THESE COUNTIES.
Special weather statement, May 6, 6:00 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
ALZ001>004-011-014-070000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
600 PM CDT WED MAY 6 1998

THE TORNADO WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN ALABAMA HAS BEEN
CANCELLED...

IN ALABAMA

LAUDERDALE...FRANKLIN...COLBERT...LAWRENCE...MARION AND WINSTON.

OTHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
ACROSS THESE COUNTIES.
Special weather statement, May 6, 6:15 PM CDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
ALZ005>010-016-070015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
615 PM CDT WED MAY 6 1998

THE TORNADO WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN ALABAMA HAS BEEN
CANCELLED...

IN ALABAMA

LIMESTONE...MADISON...MORGAN...MARSHALL...JACKSON...DEKALB AND
CULLMAN.

OTHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
ACROSS THESE COUNTIES.
Special weather statement, May 6, 6:15 PM CDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
ALZ005>010-016-070015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
615 PM CDT WED MAY 6 1998

THE TORNADO WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN ALABAMA HAS BEEN
CANCELLED...

IN ALABAMA

LIMESTONE...MADISON...MORGAN...MARSHALL...JACKSON...DEKALB AND
CULLMAN.

OTHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
ACROSS THESE COUNTIES.
Special weather statement, May 6, 7:15 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
ALZ017>018-020-070045-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
715 PM CDT WED MAY 6 1998

THE TORNADO WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN ALABAMA HAS BEEN
CANCELLED...

IN ALABAMA

BLOUNT...ETOWAH...AND CHEROKEE.

OTHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
ACROSS THESE COUNTIES.
Special weather statement, May 6, 7:15 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
ALZ017>018-020-070045-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
715 PM CDT WED MAY 6 1998

THE TORNADO WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN ALABAMA HAS BEEN
CANCELLED...

IN ALABAMA

BLOUNT...ETOWAH...AND CHEROKEE.

OTHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
ACROSS THESE COUNTIES.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 6, 7:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa64 min
May 6, 7:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega60 min
May 6, 7:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb47 min
May 6, 7:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPerry60 min
May 6, 7:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby47 min
May 6, 7:42 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBibb18 min
May 6, 7:44 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXPerry46 min
May 6, 7:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton48 min
May 6, 8:14 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXAutauga, Dallas66 min
May 6, 9:05 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXAutauga45 min
May 6, 9:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa47 min
May 6, 9:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes, Montgomery42 min
May 6, 10:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery47 min
May 6, 10:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes50 min
May 6, 11:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery31 min
May 6, 11:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPike65 min
May 7, 12:03 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour62 min
May 7, 4:29 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLauderdale36 min
May 7, 5:03 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLawrence32 min
May 7, 5:06 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLauderdale19 min
May 7, 5:10 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLimestone30 min
May 7, 5:41 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLimestone34 min
May 7, 5:50 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison45 min
May 7, 6:20 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson25 min
May 7, 6:34 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison31 min
May 7, 6:45 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson35 min
May 7, 4:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson47 min
May 7, 4:19 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLimestone51 min
May 7, 4:25 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson50 min
May 7, 4:27 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison63 min
May 7, 4:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale51 min
May 7, 5:03 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson67 min
May 7, 5:45 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb50 min
May 7, 6:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin48 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.