Alert archive / Massachusetts / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Albany, NY

July 3, 1997Berkshire County, Massachusetts

NWS Albany, NY issued this tornado warning at Jul 3, 1997, 8:17 PM EDT for Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 43 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
Jul 3, 1997, 8:17 PM EDT (00:17 UTC)
Expired
Jul 3, 1997, 9:00 PM EDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Albany, NY
Area
Whole counties

County Berkshire County, MA

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 3, 4:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Albany, NY (KALY), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 62 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, Albany, NY at 00:00Z on 1997-07-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 373 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Albany, NY at 00:00Z on 1997-07-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 44 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 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
373 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
896 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
64 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KALB 040018 RRA
TORALB
MAC003-040100-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
817 PM EDT THU JUL 3 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBANY NY  HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST MASSACHUSETTS
 
   ...BERKSHIRE COUNTY
 
AT 815 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO
NEAR HINSDALE. THIS STORM IS MOVING EAST ABOUT 30 MILES.
THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR PERU AT 825 PM.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
 
BLAES

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Massachusetts, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes in 1997

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.