Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 3, 1998Russell County, Alabama; Stewart County, Georgia

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 3, 1998, 2:58 PM CST for Russell County, Alabama; Stewart County, Georgia. It was in force for 47 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: Apr 3, 1998, 2:58 PM CST (20:58 UTC)
Expired: Apr 3, 1998, 3:45 PM CST
In force: 47 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Russell County, AL, Stewart County, GA

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 3, 3:15 PM CST	Hail 1	Omaha, GA	Hail the size of quarters was reported in Omaha, lasting several minutes.
Apr 3, 3:20 PM CST	Tornado F0	Omaha, GA	A tornado was reported near Omaha with numerous downed trees.

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
Apr 3, 10:15 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 140 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: 26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 560 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 78 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 210 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.

897 
WFUS1 KBHM 032100 RRA
TORBHM
ALC113-GAC259-032145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
258 PM CST FRI APR 3 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 345 PM CST (445 PM EST)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...SOUTHEASTERN RUSSELL COUNTY...

IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA

   ...STEWART COUNTY...

AT 256 PM CST (356 PM EST)... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A TORNADO
WITHIN A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM LOCATED IN SOUTHEAST RUSSELL COUNTY NEAR
GLENVILLE AND COTTONTON MOVING INTO WESTER STEWART COUNTY GEORGIA.
THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

<<CALL TO ACTION>>
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE... SEEK SAFETY IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT... SEEK REFUGE IN A CULVERT... DITCH OR
LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 3, 12:24 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Sumter	46 min
Apr 3, 1:23 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lamar	32 min
Apr 3, 1:30 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Greene, Hale	50 min
Apr 3, 1:40 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marion	45 min
Apr 3, 2:01 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Colbert, Lauderdale	49 min
Apr 3, 2:09 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Bibb	46 min
Apr 3, 2:49 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lauderdale	16 min
Apr 3, 2:54 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Clay	31 min
Apr 3, 2:29 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jackson, Madison	46 min
Apr 3, 2:40 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Barbour, Russell	50 min
Apr 3, 3:04 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Jackson	36 min
Apr 3, 3:15 PM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	DeKalb	50 min
Apr 3, 3:27 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Limestone	48 min
Apr 3, 4:00 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lawrence	50 min
Apr 3, 4:14 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Morgan	36 min
Apr 3, 4:19 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Madison, Marshall	31 min
Apr 3, 4:28 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Madison	47 min
Apr 3, 4:32 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Limestone	33 min
Apr 3, 4:47 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jackson	63 min
Apr 3, 5:27 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marshall	33 min
Apr 3, 5:47 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	DeKalb, Jackson	63 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1998 Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 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.