Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 110, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 7, 1998Madison County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 7, 1998, 4:27 PM CDT for Madison County, Alabama. It was in force for 63 min. 3 reports 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
May 7, 1998, 4:27 PM CDT (21:27 UTC)
Expired
May 7, 1998, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Madison County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 7, 4:33 PM CDTHail 0.75Toney, AL
May 7, 4:43 PM CDTHail 1Hazel Green, AL
May 7, 5:04 PM CDTHail 1.75New Market, ALGolf ball size hail was reported in New Market.

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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 7, 1:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 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 1998-05-07Temperature 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°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1998-05-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 413 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
1286 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
413 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
416 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.

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 072127 RRA
TORBHM
ALC089-072230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
427 PM CDT THU MAY 7 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN MADISON COUNTY... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 530 PM CDT

* AT 425 PM CDT... A TORNADO WAS DETECTED...BY NATIONAL WEATHER
 SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR JUST EAST OF ELKMONT MOVING EAST AT 35 MILES AN
HOUR.  THIS STORM IS MOVING TOWARD THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF DAN...
TONEY...AND HAZEL GREEN.

GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR!

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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, May 7, 11:33 AM CDT, 4 hours 54 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-080420-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1133 AM CDT THU MAY 7 1998

DRIER AIR IS STARTING TO INTRUDE ALOFT WHILE DEW POINTS CONTINUE IN
60S ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AND IN THE 70S ELSEWHERE. AREA WITH
DEEPER MOISTURE ONLY REMAINS IN THE NORTHEAST PART OF ALABAMA AND THAT
SHOULD CONTINUE TO DRIFT EAST AND NORTHEAST THIS AFTERNOON.

AT THE SURFACE A COLD FRONT STILL REMAINS FROM KY THROUGH AR WITH
A WARM FRONT FROM CENTRAL TN TO NE AL AND INTO SOUTHERN GA. SOME
THUNDERSTORMS COULD DEVELOP ALONG THESE FRONTS BUT AT THE PRESENT TIME
IT DOES NOT APPEAR THAT THEY WILL BE SEVERE.

THEREFORE IT APPEARS THAT THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER IS DIMINISHING
OVER MOST OF ALABAMA. THE THREAT REMAINS MOSTLY IN THE EXTREME
NORTHEAST FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS. IF ANY ACTIVITY DOES NOT BREAK OUT
BY LATE AFTERNOON THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER SHOULD BE ENDING.

STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL WILL PROBABLY
NOT BE NEEDED IF ACTIVITY DOES NOT DEVELOP IN THE NORTHEAST BY LATE
IN THE AFTERNOON.

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/

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 6, 7:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa64 min
May 6, 7:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega60 min
May 6, 7:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb47 min
May 6, 7:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPerry60 min
May 6, 7:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay47 min
May 6, 7:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby47 min
May 6, 7:42 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBibb18 min
May 6, 7:44 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXPerry46 min
May 6, 7:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton48 min
May 6, 8:14 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXAutauga, Dallas66 min
May 6, 9:05 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXAutauga45 min
May 6, 9:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa47 min
May 6, 9:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes, Montgomery42 min
May 6, 10:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery47 min
May 6, 10:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes50 min
May 6, 11:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery31 min
May 6, 11:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPike65 min
May 7, 12:03 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour62 min
May 7, 4:29 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLauderdale36 min
May 7, 5:03 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLawrence32 min
May 7, 5:06 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLauderdale19 min
May 7, 5:10 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLimestone30 min
May 7, 5:41 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXLimestone34 min
May 7, 5:50 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison45 min
May 7, 6:20 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson25 min
May 7, 6:34 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison31 min
May 7, 6:45 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson35 min
May 7, 4:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson47 min
May 7, 4:19 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLimestone51 min
May 7, 4:25 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson50 min
May 7, 4:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale51 min
May 7, 5:03 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson67 min
May 7, 5:45 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb50 min
May 7, 6:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin48 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes 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.