Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 437, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 5, 1998, 3:19 PM CDT for Elmore County, Alabama. It was in force for 66 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
- Jun 5, 1998, 3:19 PM CDT (20:19 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 5, 1998, 4:25 PM CDT
- In force
- 66 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Elmore County, AL
The radar
The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 34 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 4:04 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Eclectic, AL | |
| Jun 5, 4:15 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Wetumpka, AL |
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, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 88 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
- 2789 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 468 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 203 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 188 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.0
- Supercell composite
- 11.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
012 WUUS1 KBHM 052019 RRB SVRBHM ALC051-052125- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 319 PM CDT FRI JUN 5 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... ELMORE COUNTY... IN CENTRAL ALABAMA * UNTIL 425 PM CDT * AT 318 PM CDT... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS SHOWN...BY WEATHER RADAR OVER NORTHERN ELMORE COUNTY WEST OF WEOKA MOVING EAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING... PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.
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, Jun 5, 9:30 AM CDT, 5 hours 49 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-050300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 930 AM CDT FRI JUN 5 1998 A RATHER STRONG COLD FRONT WILL ENTER NORTH ALABAMA LATER TODAY. WARM MOIST AIR AHEAD OF THE FRONT WILL CREATE THE POSSIBILITY FOR MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP. BEST CHANCES WILL BE BY LATE AFTERNOON AND DURING 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 MAINLY LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. 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, Jun 5, 9:30 AM CDT, 5 hours 49 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-050300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 930 AM CDT FRI JUN 5 1998 A RATHER STRONG COLD FRONT WILL ENTER NORTH ALABAMA LATER TODAY. WARM MOIST AIR AHEAD OF THE FRONT WILL CREATE THE POSSIBILITY FOR MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP. BEST CHANCES WILL BE BY LATE AFTERNOON AND DURING 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 MAINLY LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 8:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb | 47 min |
| Jun 4, 8:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton, Shelby | 48 min |
| Jun 5, 3:52 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale | 63 min |
| Jun 5, 3:52 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 63 min |
| Jun 5, 4:23 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 47 min |
| Jun 5, 4:37 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence, Limestone | 63 min |
| Jun 5, 4:44 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Walker, Winston | 61 min |
| Jun 5, 5:02 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison, Morgan | 48 min |
| Jun 5, 5:02 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cullman | 48 min |
| Jun 5, 5:16 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens, Tuscaloosa | 49 min |
| Jun 5, 5:25 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount, Jefferson, Marshall | 45 min |
| Jun 5, 5:25 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jackson | 45 min |
| Jun 5, 5:42 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | DeKalb | 48 min |
| Jun 5, 5:57 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cherokee, Etowah | 48 min |
| Jun 5, 6:04 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | St. Clair, Shelby | 46 min |
| Jun 5, 6:21 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Cleburne | 34 min |
| Jun 5, 6:52 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Cleburne, Talladega | 18 min |
| Jun 5, 2:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Greene, Pickens, Sumter | 52 min |
| Jun 5, 2:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Hale, Tuscaloosa | 61 min |
| Jun 5, 2:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 50 min |
| Jun 5, 2:29 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pickens | 46 min |
| Jun 5, 2:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb | 47 min |
| Jun 5, 2:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 80 min |
| Jun 5, 2:46 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 64 min |
| Jun 5, 2:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson, Walker | 77 min |
| Jun 5, 2:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 77 min |
| Jun 5, 2:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Hale, Marengo | 62 min |
| Jun 5, 2:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette | 50 min |
| Jun 5, 2:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 34 min |
| Jun 5, 3:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Greene, Sumter | 35 min |
| Jun 5, 3:05 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 65 min |
| Jun 5, 3:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Perry | 66 min |
| Jun 5, 3:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton, Coosa | 96 min |
| Jun 5, 3:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb | 46 min |
| Jun 5, 3:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga, Dallas | 51 min |
| Jun 5, 3:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 80 min |
| Jun 5, 3:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 65 min |
| Jun 5, 3:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 64 min |
| Jun 5, 3:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay | 66 min |
| Jun 5, 4:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lowndes, Montgomery | 63 min |
| Jun 5, 4:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Macon | 78 min |
| Jun 5, 4:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers, Lee | 79 min |
| Jun 5, 4:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bullock | 63 min |
| Jun 5, 4:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pike | 63 min |
| Jun 5, 4:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lee, Macon | 48 min |
| Jun 5, 4:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Russell | 61 min |
| Jun 5, 4:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour | 64 min |
| Jun 5, 4:53 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Russell | 47 min |
| Jun 5, 5:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Etowah | 35 min |
| Jun 5, 5:11 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cherokee, DeKalb | 64 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.