Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 8, NWS Birmingham, AL

February 16, 1998Coosa County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 16, 1998, 12:08 PM CST for Coosa County, Alabama. It was in force for 47 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
Feb 16, 1998, 12:08 PM CST (18:08 UTC)
Expired
Feb 16, 1998, 12:55 PM CST
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Coosa County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Feb 16, 12:30 PM CSTHail 0.75Stewartsville, ALDime size hail was reported in Unity community, in the northwest part of the county.

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, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 57 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 1998-02-16Temperature 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 12:00Z on 1998-02-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 587 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
511 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
587 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
690 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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, Feb 16, 7:40 AM CST, 4 hours 28 minutes before
ALZ030>033-039>069-FLZ001>015-GAZ089-090-102-120-161500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
740 AM CST MON FEB 16 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CANCELLED THE WIND ADVISORY FOR
SOUTH ALABAMA...WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA.
A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL SECTIONS
OF ALABAMA FOR THIS MORNING.
Special weather statement, Feb 16, 7:40 AM CST, 4 hours 28 minutes before
ALZ030>033-039>069-FLZ001>015-GAZ089-090-102-120-161500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
740 AM CST MON FEB 16 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CANCELLED THE WIND ADVISORY FOR
SOUTH ALABAMA...WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA.
A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL SECTIONS
OF ALABAMA FOR THIS MORNING.
Special weather statement, Feb 16, 9:30 AM CST, 2 hours 38 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-162300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
930 AM CST MON FEB 16 1998

...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF
ALABAMA...AND WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA.

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PLACED ABOUT THE SOUTHERN ONE THIRD OF
ALABAMA...AND SECTIONS OF WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA UNDER A MODERATE RISK
FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.  THE REMAINDER OF NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA
...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY...IS UNDER A SLIGHT
RISK.  HOWEVER...PEOPLE IN THE TENNESSEE VALLEY SHOULD ALSO PAY CLOSE
ATTENTION TO LATER FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS...SINCE THIS HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO BE A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING AND INTENSE SEVERE WEATHER
SITUATION.

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL MAY BE
NECESSARY BY THIS AFTERNOON...AND POSSIBLY THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE AREA
TONIGHT.

A WARM FRONT WAS MOVING NORTH ACROSS SOUTHERN ALABAMA THIS MORNING AND
WILL LIFT NORTHWARD ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA TODAY INTO EARLY THIS
EVENING.  THERE MAY ALSO BE SOME BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS...ESPECIALLY
OVER SOUTHERN SECTIONS...ALLOWING THE AIR MASS TO DESTABILIZE QUICKLY.

ALSO...ANOTHER DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE AREA OVER EAST TEXAS...WILL RACE
NORTHEASTWARD TODAY...WHILE A STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM AND OTHER
FEATURES COME TOGETHER...FIRST ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS THIS
AFTERNOON AND THEN SPREAD NORTHWARD OVERNIGHT.

DUE TO THE FAVORABLE WIND FIELD IN PLACE AND THE APPROACHING UPPER
LEVEL FEATURES...SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS...
LARGE HAIL AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES.

FOR 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/INDEX.HTML
Special weather statement, Feb 16, 9:30 AM CST, 2 hours 38 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-162300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
930 AM CST MON FEB 16 1998

...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF
ALABAMA...AND WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA.

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PLACED ABOUT THE SOUTHERN ONE THIRD OF
ALABAMA...AND SECTIONS OF WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA UNDER A MODERATE RISK
FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.  THE REMAINDER OF NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA
...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY...IS UNDER A SLIGHT
RISK.  HOWEVER...PEOPLE IN THE TENNESSEE VALLEY SHOULD ALSO PAY CLOSE
ATTENTION TO LATER FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS...SINCE THIS HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO BE A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING AND INTENSE SEVERE WEATHER
SITUATION.

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL MAY BE
NECESSARY BY THIS AFTERNOON...AND POSSIBLY THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE AREA
TONIGHT.

A WARM FRONT WAS MOVING NORTH ACROSS SOUTHERN ALABAMA THIS MORNING AND
WILL LIFT NORTHWARD ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA TODAY INTO EARLY THIS
EVENING.  THERE MAY ALSO BE SOME BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS...ESPECIALLY
OVER SOUTHERN SECTIONS...ALLOWING THE AIR MASS TO DESTABILIZE QUICKLY.

ALSO...ANOTHER DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE AREA OVER EAST TEXAS...WILL RACE
NORTHEASTWARD TODAY...WHILE A STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM AND OTHER
FEATURES COME TOGETHER...FIRST ACROSS THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS THIS
AFTERNOON AND THEN SPREAD NORTHWARD OVERNIGHT.

DUE TO THE FAVORABLE WIND FIELD IN PLACE AND THE APPROACHING UPPER
LEVEL FEATURES...SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS...
LARGE HAIL AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES.

FOR 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/INDEX.HTML

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.