Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 88, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 6, 1998Lawrence County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 6, 1998, 3:01 PM CDT for Lawrence County, Alabama. It was in force for 34 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: May 6, 1998, 3:01 PM CDT (20:01 UTC)
Expired: May 6, 1998, 3:35 PM CDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

County Lawrence County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 6, 3:45 PM CDT	Hail 1	Moulton, AL	Quarter size hail was reported north of Moulton.

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
May 6, 2:15 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 157 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: 4 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -335 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1290 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 122 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 221 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.

041 
WFUS1 KBHM 062002 RRA
TORBHM
ALC079-062035-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
301 PM CDT WED MAY 6 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  LAWRENCE COUNTY... IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 335 PM CDT

* AT 301 PM CDT... A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS DETECTED...BY NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR ALONG WESTERN LAWERANCE COUNTY WEST OF
HATTON. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN A MULTIPLE STORY BUILDING...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM
AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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

Special weather statement, May 6, 9:40 AM CDT, 5 hours 21 minutes before

ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-070225-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
940 AM CDT WED MAY 6 1998

SPC HAS INDICATED A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER IN THE NORTHWEST
QUARTER OF ALABAMA TODAY AND ALL BUT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER FOR
THURSDAY. NORTH AND CENTRAL ALABAMA ARE IN THE WARM SECTOR OF THE
WEATHER SYSTEMS OVER ARKANSAS AND MISSOURI. DEW POINTS WILL SHOW A
GRADUAL RISE INTO TONIGHT AND THURSDAY. HEATING THIS AFTERNOON WILL
INCREASE LAPSE RATES. MAIN THREAT SHOULD BE HAIL AND WINDS TODAY.

SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD KEEP ALERT FOR
DEVELOPING WEATHER LATE TONIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY.

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL WILL
NOT BE NECESSARY TODAY.

THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHWEST
ALABAMA... SEE PRODUCT BHMSPSMOB. FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA... LOOK AT
MIASPSTLH.  FOR MORE WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT OUR INTERNET SITE ON
THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT
HTTP://WWW.ACESAG.AUBURN.EDU/DEPARTMENT/NWS/

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 6, 1:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Colbert	48 min
May 6, 2:04 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Colbert	51 min
May 6, 2:51 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Colbert	49 min
May 6, 3:06 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Franklin	34 min
May 6, 3:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Morgan	31 min
May 6, 3:35 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Franklin	35 min
May 6, 3:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Lawrence	51 min
May 6, 3:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Morgan	65 min
May 6, 4:03 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Morgan	47 min
May 6, 4:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marshall	60 min
May 6, 4:09 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Marion, Winston	51 min
May 6, 5:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cullman	48 min
May 6, 5:22 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Cullman	48 min
May 6, 5:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	47 min
May 6, 5:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Blount	62 min
May 6, 6:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	33 min
May 6, 6:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Pickens	50 min
May 6, 6:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Bibb	46 min
May 6, 6:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson	46 min
May 6, 6:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	St. Clair	63 min
May 6, 6:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Shelby	47 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.