Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Birmingham, AL

February 17, 1998Coosa County, Talladega County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Feb 17, 1998, 2:31 AM CST for Coosa County, Talladega County, Alabama. It was in force for 64 min. 1 report 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: Feb 17, 1998, 2:31 AM CST (08:31 UTC)
Expired: Feb 17, 1998, 3:35 AM CST
In force: 64 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Coosa County, AL, Talladega County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Feb 17, 3:12 AM CST	Hail 0.75	Talladega, AL	Dime size hail was reported in downtown Talladega.

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
Feb 17, 2:00 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 53 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: 572 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 635 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 255 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 271 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.9
Supercell composite: 5.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

755 
WFUS1 KBHM 170833 RRA
TORBHM
ALC037-121-170935-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
231 AM CST TUE FEB 17 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 335 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...COOSA COUNTY...
   ...TALLADEGA COUNTY...

AT 230 AM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A TORNADO NEAR LAY LAKE MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH TOWARDS MARBLE VALLEY AND TALLADEGA SPRINGS.


<<CALL TO ACTION>>
IF YOU LIVE IN A HOME OR APARTMENT... SEEK REFUGE IN THE INNERMOST
PORTION OF THE BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. GET TO A BASEMENT IF ONE
IS AVAILABLE. AVOID WINDOWS AND PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS
WITH CUSHIONS... BLANKETS... OR PILLOWS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 17, 12:48 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Dallas	47 min
Feb 17, 1:13 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chilton	47 min
Feb 17, 1:19 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Autauga	46 min
Feb 17, 1:45 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Autauga	50 min
Feb 17, 1:49 AM CST	Tornado Warning	BMX	Chilton	56 min
Feb 17, 2:18 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Shelby	47 min
Feb 17, 2:22 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Coosa, Talladega	63 min
Feb 17, 2:37 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chilton	18 min
Feb 17, 3:12 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chilton	48 min
Feb 17, 3:36 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Calhoun	64 min
Feb 17, 3:44 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Autauga, Lowndes	46 min
Feb 17, 3:54 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Coosa	46 min
Feb 17, 4:03 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tallapoosa	47 min
Feb 17, 4:19 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Clay	51 min
Feb 17, 4:37 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cleburne	63 min
Feb 17, 4:44 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Randolph	51 min
Feb 17, 5:04 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tallapoosa	46 min
Feb 17, 5:25 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chambers	50 min
Feb 17, 6:14 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chambers	31 min
Feb 17, 4:08 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Calhoun, Cleburne	62 min
Feb 17, 4:08 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Clay, Randolph	62 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.