Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 31, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 8, 1998, 7:25 PM CDT for Cullman County, Alabama. It was in force for 35 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
- Apr 8, 1998, 7:25 PM CDT (00:25 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 8, 1998, 8:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 35 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Cullman County, AL
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 107 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:27 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 7:30 PM CDT | Hail 2 | Joppa, AL | |
| Apr 8, 7:42 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Baileyton, AL | Golf ball size hail was reported in Baileyton. |
| Apr 8, 7:49 PM CDT | Hail 1.25 | Joppa, AL | Half dollar size hail was reported in Joppa. |
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 8, 2:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 106 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2060 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -18 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 632 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 79 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 148 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 284 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 12.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
829 WFUS1 KBHM 090026 RRA TORBHM ALC043-090100- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 725 PM CDT WED APR 8 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA ...CULLMAN COUNTY... AT 725 PM CDT... WEATHER RADAR AND STORM SPOTTER REPORTS A DEVELOPING TORNADO IN NORTHEAST CULLMAN COUNTY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THE TORNADO WAS BETWEEN HOLLY POND AND FAIRVIEW. <<CALL TO ACTION>> DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO... LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STURDY STRUCTURE IS NEARBY... SEEK SAFETY IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 7:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 49 min |
| Apr 8, 7:04 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Franklin | 51 min |
| Apr 8, 7:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar | 50 min |
| Apr 8, 7:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Coosa, Tallapoosa | 45 min |
| Apr 8, 7:18 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion | 47 min |
| Apr 8, 7:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert | 46 min |
| Apr 8, 7:33 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marshall | 47 min |
| Apr 8, 7:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Colbert | 49 min |
| Apr 8, 7:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pickens | 48 min |
| Apr 8, 7:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 48 min |
| Apr 8, 7:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Chambers | 48 min |
| Apr 8, 7:44 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount | 46 min |
| Apr 8, 7:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 50 min |
| Apr 8, 7:46 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 49 min |
| Apr 8, 7:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 63 min |
| Apr 8, 7:56 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 64 min |
| Apr 8, 7:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar, Marion | 66 min |
| Apr 8, 7:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lauderdale | 51 min |
| Apr 8, 8:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Cleburne | 50 min |
| Apr 8, 8:02 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | DeKalb | 63 min |
| Apr 8, 8:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay, Randolph | 49 min |
| Apr 8, 8:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Etowah | 47 min |
| Apr 8, 8:11 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 49 min |
| Apr 8, 8:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Morgan | 50 min |
| Apr 8, 8:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 33 min |
| Apr 8, 8:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison | 49 min |
| Apr 8, 8:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 63 min |
| Apr 8, 8:49 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 46 min |
| Apr 8, 8:49 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Hale | 36 min |
| Apr 8, 8:54 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cherokee, Etowah | 51 min |
| Apr 8, 8:56 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 49 min |
| Apr 8, 9:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Bibb | 50 min |
| Apr 8, 9:02 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 63 min |
| Apr 8, 9:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 49 min |
| Apr 8, 9:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Morgan | 48 min |
| Apr 8, 9:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Talladega | 65 min |
| Apr 8, 9:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone, Madison | 50 min |
| Apr 8, 9:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Shelby | 48 min |
| Apr 8, 9:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Sumter | 47 min |
| Apr 8, 9:52 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cleburne | 48 min |
| Apr 8, 9:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jackson | 47 min |
| Apr 8, 9:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 33 min |
| Apr 8, 10:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 50 min |
| Apr 8, 10:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 46 min |
| Apr 8, 10:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Hale | 48 min |
| Apr 8, 10:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jackson | 34 min |
| Apr 8, 10:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 31 min |
| Apr 8, 10:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | DeKalb | 33 min |
| Apr 8, 10:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb, Perry | 45 min |
| Apr 8, 10:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 49 min |
| Apr 8, 10:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay | 45 min |
| Apr 8, 11:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | St. Clair, Shelby | 62 min |
| Apr 8, 11:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cleburne | 47 min |
| Apr 8, 11:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton, Shelby | 48 min |
| Apr 8, 11:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 50 min |
| Apr 8, 11:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cleburne | 33 min |
| Apr 9, 12:07 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Coosa | 48 min |
| Apr 9, 12:20 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Clay | 50 min |
| Apr 9, 12:45 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Randolph, Tallapoosa | 45 min |
| Apr 9, 1:17 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers | 48 min |
| Apr 9, 3:16 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pike | 34 min |
| Apr 9, 3:31 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour | 49 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.