Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 112, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 7, 1998DeKalb County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 7, 1998, 5:45 PM CDT for DeKalb County, Alabama. It was in force for 50 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
May 7, 1998, 5:45 PM CDT (22:45 UTC)
Expired
May 7, 1998, 6:35 PM CDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County DeKalb County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 7, 6:00 PM CDTHail 1.75Henagar, ALHail fell in an area from Henagar to north of Valley Head. Half dollar size hail fell in Henagar with golf ball size hail in the Ider area and along I-59 at mile marker 235.

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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 168 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 1998-05-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1286 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 1998-05-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 314 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
1286 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
530 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
76 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
314 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
340 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.7
Supercell composite
8.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

111 
WFUS1 KBHM 072244 RRA
TORBHM
ALC049-072335-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 635 PM CDT

* AT 543 PM CDT... A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS DETECTED...BY NATIONAL
  WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR MOVING OUT OF JACKOSN COUNTY INTO
NORTHERN DEKALB COUNTY.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO AFFFECT THE AREAS OF HENAGAR...ROGER AND
MENTONE.

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

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, 4:27 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison63 min
May 7, 4:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale51 min
May 7, 5:03 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJackson67 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.