Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 64, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 8, 1998Madison County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 8, 1998, 3:17 PM CST for Madison County, Alabama. It was in force for 33 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 8, 1998, 3:17 PM CST (21:17 UTC)
Expired
Mar 8, 1998, 3:50 PM CST
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Madison County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 152 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1998-03-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1998-03-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 335 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
586 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
335 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
356 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.

703 
WUUS1 KBHM 082121 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC089-082150-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
317 PM CST SUN MAR 8 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 350 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

   ...MADISON COUNTY...

AT 316 PM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST
NORTHEAST OF HUNTSVILLE.  THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH AND
WILL AFFECT LOCATION ACROSS NORTHEAST MADISON COUNTY.



<<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 8, 9:21 AM CST, 5 hours 56 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-081900-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
930 AM CST SUN MAR 0891998

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THIS MORNING FOR WEST CENTRAL
GEORGIA FOR TODAY...

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTHWEST TO
NORTHEAST ACROSS MOST OF SOUTH ALABAMA.   THIS WILL CONTINUE TO
PRODUCE CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR FLASH FLOODING OVER PARTS OF SOUTH
ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA TODAY.

IN ADDITION WARM AIR AND MOISTURE FLOWING NORTHWARD WILL INCREASE
CHANCES FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS MOST OF SOUTH
ALABAMA...WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA...AND THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE TODAY.

THERE REMAINS THE THREAT OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND POSSIBLY
TORNADOES ACROSS THE SAME AREA TODAY.  ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS
IS ANTICIPATED THROUGH TODAY.   EMERAGENCY MANAGEMENT AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS SHOULD MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLY WARNINGS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF
ALABAMA...AND PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA TODAY.

FOLLOW UP STATEMENTS WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED TODAY.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 7, 11:21 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLowndes29 min
Mar 7, 11:39 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga31 min
Mar 7, 11:50 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Montgomery35 min
Mar 8, 12:53 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock, Pike47 min
Mar 8, 1:19 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXPike31 min
Mar 8, 1:41 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock34 min
Mar 8, 1:55 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPike20 min
Mar 8, 2:00 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour45 min
Mar 8, 7:04 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXBarbour2 hr
Mar 8, 7:55 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXRandolph2 hr
Mar 8, 8:44 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXBarbour, Russell3 hr
Mar 8, 8:44 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXPike3 hr
Mar 8, 11:15 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery65 min
Mar 8, 11:37 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXBarbour3 hr
Mar 8, 11:37 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXRussell3 hr
Mar 8, 11:37 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXBullock, Pike3 hr
Mar 8, 12:07 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa48 min
Mar 8, 2:53 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXLowndes32 min
Mar 8, 3:02 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXBarbour, Russell6 hr
Mar 8, 3:02 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXChambers, Lee, Macon, Tallapoosa6 hr
Mar 8, 3:02 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXBullock, Pike6 hr
Mar 8, 3:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Elmore33 min
Mar 8, 3:19 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb, Etowah31 min
Mar 8, 3:27 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXMadison18 min
Mar 8, 3:34 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson31 min
Mar 8, 3:43 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone, Morgan32 min
Mar 8, 3:55 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb50 min
Mar 8, 3:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun, St. Clair, Talladega49 min
Mar 8, 4:04 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee, Etowah61 min
Mar 8, 4:09 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXRandolph5 hr
Mar 8, 4:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison, Morgan49 min
Mar 8, 4:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson51 min
Mar 8, 4:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman36 min
Mar 8, 5:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson, Madison45 min
Mar 8, 5:25 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall35 min
Mar 8, 5:27 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount18 min
Mar 8, 5:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson45 min
Mar 8, 5:50 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Tallapoosa35 min
Mar 8, 5:58 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall17 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.