Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 13, NWS Birmingham, AL

January 5, 1997Etowah County, St. Clair County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 5, 1997, 1:13 AM CST for Etowah County, St. Clair County, Alabama. It was in force for 47 min. 2 reports 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
Jan 5, 1997, 1:13 AM CST (07:13 UTC)
Expired
Jan 5, 1997, 2:00 AM CST
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Etowah County, AL, St. Clair County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 5, 1:17 AM CSTThunderstorm Wind 65Gadsden, AL
Jan 5, 1:30 AM CSTThunderstorm Wind 50Countywide, AL

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
Jan 4, 11:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 96 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 00:00Z on 1997-01-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 826 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 00:00Z on 1997-01-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 174 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
826 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
864 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
174 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
265 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
3.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 050713 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC115-055-050800-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
113 AM CST SUN JAN 5 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  200 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL ALABAMA
 
   ...ST. CLAIR COUNTY
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...ETOWAH COUNTY
 
AT 112 AM CST...WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO SHOW A LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS NEAR AN ATTALLA TO LEEDS. THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 40 TO 45 MPH AND WILL AFFECT MOST AREAS ACROSS THE WARNED COUNTIES.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL>...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 4, 9:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert58 min
Jan 4, 9:57 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale48 min
Jan 4, 10:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin61 min
Jan 4, 11:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone66 min
Jan 4, 11:16 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan59 min
Jan 4, 11:22 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison68 min
Jan 4, 11:26 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison64 min
Jan 5, 12:07 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson68 min
Jan 5, 12:34 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall56 min
Jan 5, 12:44 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb61 min
Jan 5, 12:59 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale, Tuscaloosa46 min
Jan 5, 1:05 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb, Jefferson, Shelby40 min
Jan 5, 1:08 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXMarshall2 hr
Jan 5, 1:29 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee46 min
Jan 5, 1:37 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPerry53 min
Jan 5, 1:43 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBibb, Shelby47 min
Jan 5, 1:53 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega52 min
Jan 5, 3:00 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay, Randolph45 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.