Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 79, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 8, 1998Clay County, Randolph County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 8, 1998, 6:14 PM CST for Clay County, Randolph County, Alabama. It was in force for 51 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, 6:14 PM CST (00:14 UTC)
Expired
Mar 8, 1998, 7:05 PM CST
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Clay County, AL, Randolph County, AL

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Mar 8, 3:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 105 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 1998-03-09Temperature 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 1998-03-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -32 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
603 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
85 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
187 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

845 
WUUS1 KBHM 090018 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC027-111-090105-

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


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 705 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...EASTERN CLAY COUNTY...
   ...RANDOLPH COUNTY...

AT 613 PM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
NORTHERN TALLAPOOSA COUNTY MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.  THIS
STORM PRODUCED DIME SIZE HAIL.

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, 6:01 PM CST, 13 minutes before
ALZ005-007-016-024-025-034-035-040-090300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
555 PM CST FRI MAR 6 1998

THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH NUMBER 98: LIMESTONE...CULLMAN...JEFFERSON...SHELBY...
BIBB...CHILTON...AND DALLAS.

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.