Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 55, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 16, 1998, 8:03 PM CDT for Walker County, Alabama. It was in force for 47 min. 4 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 16, 1998, 8:03 PM CDT (01:03 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 16, 1998, 8:50 PM CDT
- In force
- 47 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Walker County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 8:29 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Townley, AL | Several trees were snapped and uprooted just north of Townley. |
| Apr 16, 8:36 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Jasper, AL | Several trees were snapped off and uprooted; a few mobile homes were damaged. Power lines were down across the area. |
| Apr 16, 8:45 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 69 | Jasper, AL | A wind gust to 79 mph was reported just west of Jasper by a TV weatherman. A number of trees were reported downed. |
| Apr 16, 8:46 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Sipsey, AL |
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 16, 4:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 84 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
- 1586 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 645 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 74 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 270 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 336 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 3.6
- Supercell composite
- 16.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
774 WFUS1 KBHM 170102 RRA TORBHM ALC127-170150- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 803 PM CDT THU APR 16 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... WALKER COUNTY... IN CENTRAL ALABAMA * UNTIL 850 PM CDT * AT 802 PM CDT...A TORNADO WAS REPORTED...BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR MOVING INTO WESTERN WALKER COUNTY...TO THE NORTHWEST OF TOWNLEY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES PER HOUR. * THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR THE TOWNS OF ELDRIDGE... KANSAS...AND CARBON HILL BY 815 PM CDT. GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR REMEMBER... A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. LARGE HAIL... DAMAGING WINDS... AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL MAY ALSO OCCUR. BE READY TO SEEK A PLACE OF SAFETY IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION -- TAKE COVER NOW. THIS TORNADO IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING INCREDIBLE DESTRUCTION. ACT QUICKLY... YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT. MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR LIE FLAT IN A DITCH OR CULVERT. DO NOT TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO IN YOUR CAR.
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
Local storm report, Apr 16, 7:53 PM CDT, 10 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
753 PM CDT THU APR 16 1998
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0648 PM TUSCUMBIA AL .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/98 COLBERT DIME SIZE HAIL 5 SOUTH
TUSCUMBIA...REPORTED BY
HAMS.
0703 PM MUSCLE SHOALS AL .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/98 COLBERT DIME SIZE HAIL AND HIGH
WIND IN MUSCLE
SHOALS...REPORTED BY HAMS.
0711 PM AL .88 INCH HAIL
04/16/98 COLBERT NICKEL SIZED HAIL NEAR
HIGHWAY 24 AND
48...REPORTED BY HAMS.
0725 PM AL TORNADO
04/16/98 LAMAR TORNADO BETWEEN
MISSISSIPPI STATE LINE AND
VERNON...REPORTED BY EMA.
0730 PM AL 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/16/98 LAMAR GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL IN
SOUTHERN LAMAR
COUNTY...REPORTED BY EMA.
0734 PM TUSCUMBIA AL WIND DAMAGE
04/16/98 COLBERT BUILDING DESTROYED AND ONE
MORE MOVED OFF
FOUNDATION...7 MILES SW
NEAR COUNTY RD.
41...REPORTED BY HAMS.Local storm report, Apr 16, 7:53 PM CDT, 10 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
753 PM CDT THU APR 16 1998
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0648 PM TUSCUMBIA AL .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/98 COLBERT DIME SIZE HAIL 5 SOUTH
TUSCUMBIA...REPORTED BY
HAMS.
0703 PM MUSCLE SHOALS AL .75 INCH HAIL
04/16/98 COLBERT DIME SIZE HAIL AND HIGH
WIND IN MUSCLE
SHOALS...REPORTED BY HAMS.
0711 PM AL .88 INCH HAIL
04/16/98 COLBERT NICKEL SIZED HAIL NEAR
HIGHWAY 24 AND
48...REPORTED BY HAMS.
0725 PM AL TORNADO
04/16/98 LAMAR TORNADO BETWEEN
MISSISSIPPI STATE LINE AND
VERNON...REPORTED BY EMA.
0730 PM AL 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/16/98 LAMAR GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL IN
SOUTHERN LAMAR
COUNTY...REPORTED BY EMA.
0734 PM TUSCUMBIA AL WIND DAMAGE
04/16/98 COLBERT BUILDING DESTROYED AND ONE
MORE MOVED OFF
FOUNDATION...7 MILES SW
NEAR COUNTY RD.
41...REPORTED BY HAMS.The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 7:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 49 min |
| Apr 16, 7:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert | 34 min |
| Apr 16, 7:11 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lamar | 49 min |
| Apr 16, 7:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lauderdale | 51 min |
| Apr 16, 7:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette | 45 min |
| Apr 16, 7:48 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Limestone | 47 min |
| Apr 16, 8:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Madison | 66 min |
| Apr 16, 8:29 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jackson | 61 min |
| Apr 16, 8:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 48 min |
| Apr 16, 8:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cullman | 65 min |
| Apr 16, 8:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 34 min |
| Apr 16, 9:05 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount | 60 min |
| Apr 16, 9:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Etowah | 63 min |
| Apr 16, 9:34 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jackson | 36 min |
| Apr 16, 9:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marshall | 50 min |
| Apr 16, 9:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 32 min |
| Apr 16, 10:05 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marshall | 35 min |
| Apr 16, 10:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | DeKalb | 64 min |
| Apr 16, 10:13 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 47 min |
| Apr 16, 10:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marshall | 32 min |
| Apr 16, 11:07 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | DeKalb | 48 min |
| Apr 16, 11:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 50 min |
| Apr 17, 12:22 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 48 min |
| Apr 17, 12:26 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 44 min |
| Apr 17, 3:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour | 50 min |
| Apr 17, 6:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour | 47 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.