Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Mobile, AL

March 5, 1998Washington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 5, 1998, 2:14 PM CST for Washington County, Alabama. It was in force for 56 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: Mar 5, 1998, 2:14 PM CST (20:14 UTC)
Expired: Mar 5, 1998, 3:10 PM CST
In force: 56 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Whole counties

County Washington County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:18 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Mar 5, 2:30 PM CST	Hail 1	Fruitdale, AL	Quarter size hail was reported just south of Fruitdale.

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 nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 192 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: 477 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -37 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 631 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 230 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 320 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 052014 RRA
TORMOB
ALC129-052110-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
214 PM CST THU MAR 5 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE AL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 310 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHWESTERN ALABAMA

   ...WASHINGTON COUNTY

AT 215 PM CST... DOPPLER RADAR AT MOBILE INDICATED A TORNADO LOCATED
ABOUT 5 MILES NORTH OF LEAKESVILLE MS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30
MPH.

THIS STORM WILL BE PASSING THE WASHINGTON/GREENE COUNTY BORDER BY 225
PM CST...MOVING NEAR THE TOWNS OF ESCATAWPA AND TIBBIE IN AL SHORTLY
AFTER.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 5, 12:11 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	64 min
Mar 5, 12:39 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Monroe, Wilcox	61 min
Mar 5, 1:17 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Mobile	63 min
Mar 5, 2:28 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington, Escambia	57 min
Mar 5, 2:28 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	57 min
Mar 5, 3:22 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	63 min
Mar 5, 4:03 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke, Monroe	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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.