Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 128, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 9, 1998Pickens County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 9, 1998, 7:41 PM CDT for Pickens County, Alabama. It was in force for 34 min. 2 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 9, 1998, 7:41 PM CDT (00:41 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 1998, 8:15 PM CDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

County Pickens County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 9, 7:45 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Aliceville, AL	Golf ball size hail was reported in Aliceville by the EMA.
May 9, 7:45 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 60	Aliceville, AL	Numerous trees were down on the south side of Aliceville.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 9, 7:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 122 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 213 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -309 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1398 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 70 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 241 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 355 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.

757 
WFUS1 KBHM 100042 RRA
TORBHM
ALC107-100115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
741 PM CDT SAT MAY 9 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  PICKENS COUNTY... IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA

* UNTIL 815 PM CDT

* AT 740 PM CDT... A TORNADO WAS DETECTED...BY NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR JUST NORTH OF COCHRANE AND WAS MOVING EAST AT 45
MILES AN HOUR.  THIS STORM WILL MOVE VERY NEAR THE CITY OF ALICEVILLE.

IF YOU ARE IN A CAR...GO IN A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING AS A LAST
RESORT LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD.

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 9, 3:45 PM CDT, 3 hours 56 minutes before

ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-100100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
345 PM CDT SAT MAY 9 1998

...A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER FOR THE NORTHERN HALF OF
ALABAMA THROUGH TONIGHT...

THE INGREDIENTS ARE STILL COMING TOGETHER FOR A SIGNIFICANT OUTBREAK
OF SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT.  A STRONG UPPER LOW
WILL APPROACH ALABAMA FROM THE WEST LATER TONIGHT AND MOVE ACROSS
THE NORTHERN PART OF THE STATE BEFORE SUNRISE.  VERY HUMID AIR FROM
THE GULF OF MEXICO HAS BEEN MOVING NORTHWARD DURING THE DAY...AND
WILL PROVIDE FUEL FOR THE UPPER LOW TO WORK WITH OVERNIGHT.

THE GREATEST RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE OVER THE NORTHERN ONE
HALF OF ALABAMA...ROUGHLY NORTH OF A LINDEN...SELMA...AUBURN LINE.
THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PLACED A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS IN THESE AREAS.  THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE
WEATHER JUST TO THE SOUTH OF THE MENTIONED AREA.  INCLUDED IN THE
SLIGHT RISK AREA ARE THE CITIES OF MONTGOMERY...TUSKEGEE...PHENIX
CITY...AND COLUMBUS GEORGIA.

AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THE BRUNT OF THE SEVERE WEATHER WILL
BE BETWEEN 700 PM AND MIDNIGHT FOR AREAS ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE
65...AND AFTER 1000 PM FOR AREAS EAST OF INTERSTATE 65.  WINDS IN THE
ATMOSPHERE ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS...SO TORNADO
WATCHES WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED FOR NORTHERN ALABAMA DURING THE NIGHT.

STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD PREPARE FOR
ACTIVATION...ESPECIALLY THOSE OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF ALABAMA.

Special weather statement, May 9, 3:45 PM CDT, 3 hours 56 minutes before

ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-100100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
345 PM CDT SAT MAY 9 1998

...A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER FOR THE NORTHERN HALF OF
ALABAMA THROUGH TONIGHT...

THE INGREDIENTS ARE STILL COMING TOGETHER FOR A SIGNIFICANT OUTBREAK
OF SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT.  A STRONG UPPER LOW
WILL APPROACH ALABAMA FROM THE WEST LATER TONIGHT AND MOVE ACROSS
THE NORTHERN PART OF THE STATE BEFORE SUNRISE.  VERY HUMID AIR FROM
THE GULF OF MEXICO HAS BEEN MOVING NORTHWARD DURING THE DAY...AND
WILL PROVIDE FUEL FOR THE UPPER LOW TO WORK WITH OVERNIGHT.

THE GREATEST RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE OVER THE NORTHERN ONE
HALF OF ALABAMA...ROUGHLY NORTH OF A LINDEN...SELMA...AUBURN LINE.
THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PLACED A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS IN THESE AREAS.  THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE
WEATHER JUST TO THE SOUTH OF THE MENTIONED AREA.  INCLUDED IN THE
SLIGHT RISK AREA ARE THE CITIES OF MONTGOMERY...TUSKEGEE...PHENIX
CITY...AND COLUMBUS GEORGIA.

AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS THAT THE BRUNT OF THE SEVERE WEATHER WILL
BE BETWEEN 700 PM AND MIDNIGHT FOR AREAS ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE
65...AND AFTER 1000 PM FOR AREAS EAST OF INTERSTATE 65.  WINDS IN THE
ATMOSPHERE ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS...SO TORNADO
WATCHES WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED FOR NORTHERN ALABAMA DURING THE NIGHT.

STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD PREPARE FOR
ACTIVATION...ESPECIALLY THOSE OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF ALABAMA.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 9, 7:06 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	69 min
May 9, 7:33 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Greene	62 min
May 9, 7:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Jefferson	76 min
May 9, 7:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Sumter	77 min
May 9, 7:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Walker	48 min
May 9, 8:09 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	51 min
May 9, 8:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Hale	61 min
May 9, 8:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Greene	36 min
May 9, 8:35 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Bibb	65 min
May 9, 8:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Shelby	77 min
May 9, 8:53 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Jefferson	47 min
May 9, 9:22 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chilton	63 min
May 9, 9:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Coosa	65 min
May 9, 9:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Pickens	50 min
May 9, 9:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Talladega	47 min
May 9, 10:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	63 min
May 9, 11:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson	63 min
May 9, 11:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Clay	36 min
May 9, 11:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Randolph	50 min
May 9, 11:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Jefferson	51 min
May 9, 11:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	47 min
May 9, 11:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	St. Clair	50 min
May 10, 12:23 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson, Shelby	62 min
May 10, 12:34 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Calhoun, Talladega	66 min
May 10, 1:25 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cleburne	45 min
May 10, 6:49 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chambers	31 min

Nearby

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