Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 53, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 6, 1998, 4:38 PM CST for Lamar County, Alabama. It was in force for 32 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
- Mar 6, 1998, 4:38 PM CST (22:38 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 6, 1998, 5:10 PM CST
- In force
- 32 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lamar County, AL
The radar
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:41 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 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 139 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
- 8 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -339 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 688 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 99 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 154 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 062238 RRA SVRBHM ALC075-062310- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 438 PM CST FRI MAR 6 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 510 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA ...NORTHERN LAMAR COUNTY... AT 436 PM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING LARGE HAIL NEAR THE ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI BORDER WEST OF SULLIGENT. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH AND WILL MOVE INTO SULLIGENT BY 500 PM. <<CALL TO ACTION>> IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE... SEEK REFUGE FROM THE STORM IN A STRONG BUILDING. BOATERS ON AREA LAKES SHOULD TAKE SHELTER. DAMAGING WIND... LARGE HAIL... VERY HEAVY RAIN... AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE ALL LIKELY. DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER TREES OR OTHER ISOLATED TALL OBJECTS. THESE ATTRACT LIGHTNING. DO NOT 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, Mar 6, 3:15 PM CST, 1 hour 23 minutes before
ALZALL-FLZ001>015-GAZ089-090-102-120-070000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 315 PM CST FRI MAR 06 1998 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE ACROSS ALABAMA...NORTHWEST FLORIDA AND PORTIONS OF WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND... A DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE WESTERN U.S. WILL INTENSIFY AND MOVE RAPIDLY EASTWARD TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT...THEN MOVE INTO THE STATE BY EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. A STRONG LOW LEVEL JET COUPLED WITH FAVORABLE UPPER FEATURES AND WARM MOIST AIR WILL ALLOW THE AIR MASS ACROSS THE AREA TO BECOME VERY UNSTABLE. STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA FROM MAINLY SATURDAY AFTERNOON INTO EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION TO THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT...HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THIS STATEMENT IS BEING PROVIDED TO ALLOW EMERGENCY MANAGERS...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS...OTHER EMERGENCY PERSONNEL AND LOCAL POWER COMPANY PERSONNEL TIME TO MAKE SOME NECESSARY CONTINGENCY PLANS AND ALLOCATE MANPOWER AS NECESSARY. FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AS MORE DATA BECOMES AVAILABLE AND THE SITUATION BEGINS TO UNFOLD.
Special weather statement, Mar 6, 3:15 PM CST, 1 hour 23 minutes before
ALZALL-FLZ001>015-GAZ089-090-102-120-070000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 315 PM CST FRI MAR 06 1998 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE ACROSS ALABAMA...NORTHWEST FLORIDA AND PORTIONS OF WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND... A DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE WESTERN U.S. WILL INTENSIFY AND MOVE RAPIDLY EASTWARD TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT...THEN MOVE INTO THE STATE BY EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. A STRONG LOW LEVEL JET COUPLED WITH FAVORABLE UPPER FEATURES AND WARM MOIST AIR WILL ALLOW THE AIR MASS ACROSS THE AREA TO BECOME VERY UNSTABLE. STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA FROM MAINLY SATURDAY AFTERNOON INTO EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION TO THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT...HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THIS STATEMENT IS BEING PROVIDED TO ALLOW EMERGENCY MANAGERS...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS...OTHER EMERGENCY PERSONNEL AND LOCAL POWER COMPANY PERSONNEL TIME TO MAKE SOME NECESSARY CONTINGENCY PLANS AND ALLOCATE MANPOWER AS NECESSARY. FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AS MORE DATA BECOMES AVAILABLE AND THE SITUATION BEGINS TO UNFOLD.
Special weather statement, Mar 6, 4:02 PM CST, 36 minutes before
ALZ014-062220- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 402 PM CST FRI MAR 6 1998 THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM FOR EASTERN WINSTON COUNTY HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE STORM HAS WEAKENEdD CONSIDERABLY AND IS NO LONGER PRODUCING LARGE HAIL.
Special weather statement, Mar 6, 4:02 PM CST, 36 minutes before
ALZ014-062220- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 402 PM CST FRI MAR 6 1998 THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR EASTERN WINSTON COUNTY HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE STORM HAS WEAKENED CONSIDERABLY AND IS NO LONGER PRODUCING LARGE HAIL.
Special weather statement, Mar 6, 4:02 PM CST, 36 minutes before
ALZ014-062220- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 402 PM CST FRI MAR 6 1998 THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR EASTERN WINSTON COUNTY HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE STORM HAS WEAKENED CONSIDERABLY AND IS NO LONGER PRODUCING LARGE HAIL.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 11:34 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 51 min |
| Mar 6, 12:21 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar, Pickens | 64 min |
| Mar 6, 1:13 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Tuscaloosa | 62 min |
| Mar 6, 1:49 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 61 min |
| Mar 6, 2:45 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Pickens, Tuscaloosa | 45 min |
| Mar 6, 4:10 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 35 min |
| Mar 6, 4:27 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Coosa, Tallapoosa | 48 min |
| Mar 6, 3:49 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 26 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.