Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 113, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 7, 1998Cullman County, Winston County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 7, 1998, 8:00 PM CDT for Cullman County, Winston County, Alabama. It was in force for 65 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, 8:00 PM CDT (01:00 UTC)
Expired
May 7, 1998, 9:05 PM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cullman County, AL, Winston County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 7, 8:10 PM CDTHail 1.75Jones Chapel, ALGolf ball size hail was reported in Jones Chapel.
May 7, 8:29 PM CDTHail 1.75Cullman, ALGolf ball size was reported in Cullman.
May 7, 8:53 PM CDTHail 1Haleyville, ALQuarter size hail was reported northeast of Haleyville.

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, 8:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 111 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 1998-05-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2677 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 1998-05-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 132 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
2677 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
985 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
74 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
224 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.5
Supercell composite
12.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

944 
WFUS1 KBHM 080059 RRA
TORBHM
ALC043-133-080205-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CULLMAN COUNTY... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA
  NORTHEASTERN WINSTON COUNTY... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 905 PM CDT

* AT 759 PM CDT... A TORNADO WAS DETECTED...BY NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR NEAR APPROACHING THE ADDISON AREA.  THIS STORM
WILL MOVE TOWARD JONES CHAPEL...LOGAN AND POSSIBLY LATER THE CITY OF
CULLMAN.

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 7, 7:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison31 min
May 7, 7:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone50 min
May 7, 7:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson65 min
May 7, 7:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence, Winston64 min
May 7, 7:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison50 min
May 7, 8:06 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison49 min
May 7, 8:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan62 min
May 7, 8:11 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb, Jackson64 min
May 7, 8:38 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarshall52 min
May 7, 8:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence65 min
May 7, 8:43 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBlount62 min
May 7, 8:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin35 min
May 7, 8:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston62 min
May 7, 8:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee35 min
May 7, 9:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb51 min
May 7, 9:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman66 min
May 7, 9:25 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXEtowah, St. Clair65 min
May 7, 9:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin65 min
May 7, 9:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee49 min
May 7, 9:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston64 min
May 7, 9:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun61 min
May 7, 10:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion65 min
May 7, 10:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne47 min
May 7, 10:58 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCleburne32 min
May 7, 11:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman49 min
May 7, 11:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun62 min
May 7, 11:24 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun36 min
May 7, 11:30 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCleburne50 min
May 7, 11:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair50 min
May 8, 12:00 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun50 min
May 8, 12:18 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXCleburne62 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.