Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Tallahassee, FL

April 8, 1998Coffee County, Alabama

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Apr 8, 1998, 10:23 AM CDT for Coffee County, Alabama. It was in force for 62 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 8, 1998, 10:23 AM CDT (15:23 UTC)
Expired
Apr 8, 1998, 11:25 AM CDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area
Whole counties

County Coffee County, AL

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:26 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), launched 12:00Z, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 114 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, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1998-04-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1443 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1998-04-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 169 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1443 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
465 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
71 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
169 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
213 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.1
Supercell composite
7.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

426 
WFUS1 KTLH 081524 RRA
TORTLH
ALC031-081625-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
1123 AM EDT WED APR 8 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE FL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1125 AM CDT (1225 PM EDT)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHEASTERN ALABAMA

   ...COFFEE COUNTY

AT 1019 AM CDT... DOPPLER RADAR AT TALLAHASSEE INDICATED A
DEVELOPING TORNADO 10 MILES WEST OF ELBA MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE...
ELBA                      BY 1030 AM CDT
NEW BROCKTON              BY 1040 AM CDT
VICTORIA                  BY 1040 AM CDT
ENTERPRISE                BY 1045 AM CDT

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM... GO TO A SAFE PLACE
IMMEDIATELY.  THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SAFETY IN A NEARBY STURDY
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK REFUGE IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.  BEWARE THE THREAT
OF RISING WATER.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 8, 7:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEHouston31 min
Apr 8, 9:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEHouston64 min
Apr 8, 11:03 AM CDTTornado WarningTAEDale62 min
Apr 8, 11:52 AM CDTTornado WarningTAECoffee63 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.