Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 587, NWS Birmingham, AL

July 9, 1998Montgomery County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 9, 1998, 3:47 PM CDT for Montgomery County, Alabama. It was in force for 63 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
Jul 9, 1998, 3:47 PM CDT (20:47 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 1998, 4:50 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Montgomery County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 9, 4:00 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 55Montgomery, ALTrees and power lines were down in Montgomery. One tree fell on a home and damaged part of the roof. Also 13,000 residents were without power.

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, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 119 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 12:00Z on 1998-07-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2394 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 12:00Z on 1998-07-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -17 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
2394 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-46 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
772 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
2 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-7 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

355 
WUUS1 KBHM 092049 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC101-092150-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
347 PM CDT THU JUL 9 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  MONTGOMERY COUNTY... IN CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 450 PM CDT

* AT 345 PM CDT... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS SHOWN...BY WEATHER RADAR
JUST NORTH OF THE CITY OF MONTGOMERY MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE CITY OF MONTGOMERY
AND MOVE SOUTHEAST ALONG HIGHWAY 231.

DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN ARE LIKELY. GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING
AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 9, 1:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker64 min
Jul 9, 1:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson64 min
Jul 9, 1:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby63 min
Jul 9, 1:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa50 min
Jul 9, 2:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa34 min
Jul 9, 2:09 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXJefferson2 hr
Jul 9, 2:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega33 min
Jul 9, 3:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPerry51 min
Jul 9, 4:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour48 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.