Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 24, NWS Mobile, AL

May 3, 1998Covington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at May 3, 1998, 5:08 PM CDT for Covington County, Alabama. It was in force for 37 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 3, 1998, 5:08 PM CDT (22:08 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 1998, 5:45 PM CDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Covington County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 3, 5:40 PM CDTHail 0.75Andalusia, ALDime size hail fell in the community.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 3, 2:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 217 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 12:00Z on 1998-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 446 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1998-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 127 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
446 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-80 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1216 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
127 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

548 
WFUS1 KMOB 032207 RRA
TORMOB
ALC039-032245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
508 PM CDT SUN MAY 3 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  COVINGTON COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ALABAMA

* UNTIL 545 PM CDT

* AT 505 PM CDT... A TORNADO WAS LOCATED 7 MILES NORTH OF ANDALUSIA...
  AS INDICATED BY DOPPLER RADAR... MOVING EAST 35 MPH.

* TORNADO WILL MOVE OVER THE EASTERN PORTION OF COVINGTON COUNTY.
  THE TORNADO WILL CROSS US-HIGHWAY 331 BY 520 PM CDT..

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...SEEK SAFETY IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR
CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 8:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBConecuh55 min
May 3, 7:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBButler, Wilcox62 min
May 3, 8:27 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBCrenshaw63 min
May 3, 1:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBChoctaw56 min
May 3, 2:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBWilcox77 min
May 3, 2:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBChoctaw75 min
May 3, 2:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBClarke97 min
May 3, 3:25 PM CDTTornado WarningMOBWilcox65 min
May 3, 4:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBButler58 min
May 3, 4:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBConecuh47 min
May 3, 4:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBCovington59 min
May 3, 6:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBMobile68 min
May 3, 6:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBWashington53 min
May 3, 6:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBEscambia69 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.