Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 50, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 8, 1998Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 8, 1998, 9:32 PM CDT for Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 48 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 8, 1998, 9:32 PM CDT (02:32 UTC)
Expired
Apr 8, 1998, 10:20 PM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Shelby County, AL

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 14 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:35 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 8, 7:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 14 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 1998-04-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2060 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 00:00Z on 1998-04-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 148 square meters per square second.1939587897117136156Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

675 
WFUS1 KBHM 090230 RRA
TORBHM
ALC117-090320-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
932 PM CDT WED APR 8 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1020 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...SHELBY COUNTY...

AT 930 PM CDT... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A POSSIBLE TORNADO WITH A
THUNDERSTORM THAT WAS MOVING OUT OF BIBB COUNTY.  WEATHER RADAR
CONTINUED TO SHOW A STRONG INDICATION OF POSSIBLE TORNADOES WITH THIS
STORM WHICH IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT PRIMARILY THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF
SHELBY COUNTY.  THE AREAS LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED INCLUDE THE MONTEVALLO
AREA AND THE ALABASTER-CALERA AREAS.


<<CALL TO ACTION>>
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE... GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A
REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 8, 7:01 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa49 min
Apr 8, 7:04 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFranklin51 min
Apr 8, 7:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette, Lamar50 min
Apr 8, 7:15 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCoosa, Tallapoosa45 min
Apr 8, 7:18 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarion47 min
Apr 8, 7:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert46 min
Apr 8, 7:25 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCullman35 min
Apr 8, 7:33 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarshall47 min
Apr 8, 7:36 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXColbert49 min
Apr 8, 7:37 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXPickens48 min
Apr 8, 7:37 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXWinston48 min
Apr 8, 7:42 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXChambers48 min
Apr 8, 7:44 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBlount46 min
Apr 8, 7:45 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJefferson50 min
Apr 8, 7:46 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLawrence49 min
Apr 8, 7:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker63 min
Apr 8, 7:56 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa64 min
Apr 8, 7:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Marion66 min
Apr 8, 7:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale51 min
Apr 8, 8:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun, Cleburne50 min
Apr 8, 8:02 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb63 min
Apr 8, 8:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay, Randolph49 min
Apr 8, 8:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah47 min
Apr 8, 8:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone49 min
Apr 8, 8:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan50 min
Apr 8, 8:32 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJefferson33 min
Apr 8, 8:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison49 min
Apr 8, 8:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee63 min
Apr 8, 8:49 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXSt. Clair46 min
Apr 8, 8:49 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXHale36 min
Apr 8, 8:54 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCherokee, Etowah51 min
Apr 8, 8:56 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTuscaloosa49 min
Apr 8, 9:00 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBibb50 min
Apr 8, 9:02 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJefferson63 min
Apr 8, 9:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence49 min
Apr 8, 9:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan48 min
Apr 8, 9:15 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun, Talladega65 min
Apr 8, 9:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone, Madison50 min
Apr 8, 9:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter47 min
Apr 8, 9:52 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCleburne48 min
Apr 8, 9:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson47 min
Apr 8, 9:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee33 min
Apr 8, 10:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa50 min
Apr 8, 10:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega46 min
Apr 8, 10:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale48 min
Apr 8, 10:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson34 min
Apr 8, 10:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega31 min
Apr 8, 10:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb33 min
Apr 8, 10:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb, Perry45 min
Apr 8, 10:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson49 min
Apr 8, 10:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay45 min
Apr 8, 11:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair, Shelby62 min
Apr 8, 11:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne47 min
Apr 8, 11:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton, Shelby48 min
Apr 8, 11:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega50 min
Apr 8, 11:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne33 min
Apr 9, 12:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa48 min
Apr 9, 12:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay50 min
Apr 9, 12:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRandolph, Tallapoosa45 min
Apr 9, 1:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers48 min
Apr 9, 3:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPike34 min
Apr 9, 3:31 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour49 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.