Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 134, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 21, 1997, 10:36 AM CST for Lowndes County, Alabama. It was in force for 39 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
- Feb 21, 1997, 10:36 AM CST (16:36 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 21, 1997, 11:15 AM CST
- In force
- 39 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lowndes County, AL
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 9:15 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 4.6 hours before the alert went out and 115 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 116 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 589 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 64 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 475 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 530 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
408 WUUS1 KBHM 211637 RRA SVRBHM ALC085-211715- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 1036 AM CST FRI FEB 21 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1115 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN CENTRAL ALABAMA ...LOWNDES COUNTY AT 10:35AM RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE TH8UNDERSTORM OVER WESTERN LOWNDES COUNTY...JUST SOUTHWEST OF BEECHWOOD...THIS STORM IS MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH...AND WILL IMPACT HAYNEVILLE BY 10:45 AND LOWNDESBORO BY 11 AM. A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Feb 21, 8:25 AM CST, 2 hours 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA
825 AM CST FRI FEB 21 1997
TIME(CST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
632 AM HALEYVILLE AL WIND DAMAGE
02/21/97 WINSTON TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
NEAR HALEYVILLE
635 AM AL WIND DAMAGE
02/21/97 WINSTON TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
NEAR COUNTY RD 10 AND 30
640 AM BANKSTON AL WIND DAMAGE
02/21/97 FAYETTE TREES DOWN IN
BANKSTON..TIME ESTIMATED
640 AM AL WIND DAMAGE
02/21/97 MARION TREES DOWN AND SOME TIN
TORN OFF ROOFS IN
HACKLEBURG AND BEAR CREEK
710 AM AL WIND DAMAGE
02/21/97 TUSCALOOSA TREES DOWN IN CONCORD AREA
IN NORTHERN TUSCALOOSA COLocal storm report, Feb 21, 8:27 AM CST, 2 hours 9 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA
825 AM CST FRI FEB 21 1997
TIME(CST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
632 AM HALEYVILLE AL WIND DAMAGE
02/21/97 WINSTON TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
NEAR HALEYVILLE
635 AM AL WIND DAMAGE
02/21/97 WINSTON TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
NEAR COUNTY RD 10 AND 30
640 AM BANKSTON AL WIND DAMAGE
02/21/97 FAYETTE TREES DOWN IN
BANKSTON..TIME ESTIMATED
640 AM AL WIND DAMAGE
02/21/97 MARION TREES DOWN AND SOME TIN
TORN OFF ROOFS IN
HACKLEBURG AND BEAR CREEK
710 AM AL WIND DAMAGE
02/21/97 TUSCALOOSA TREES DOWN IN CONCORD AREA
IN NORTHERN TUSCALOOSA COSpecial weather statement, Feb 21, 9:00 AM CST, 1 hour 36 minutes before
ALZ030-031-211600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 900 AM CST FRI FEB 21 1997 THE TORNADO WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR SUMTER AND GREENE COUNTIES IN WEST ALABAMA.
Special weather statement, Feb 21, 9:03 AM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes before
ALZ030-031-211600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 900 AM CST FRI FEB 21 1997 THE TORNADO WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR SUMTER AND GREENE COUNTIES IN WEST ALABAMA.
Special weather statement, Feb 21, 9:28 AM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes before
ALZ015-016-006-0070211600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 930 AM CST FRI FEB 21 1997 THE TORNADO WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR CULLMAN WALKER MORGAN AND MADISON COUNTIES IN NORTH ALABAMA.
Special weather statement, Feb 21, 9:30 AM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes before
ALZ015-016-006-0070211600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 930 AM CST FRI FEB 21 1997 THE TORNADO WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR CULLMAN WALKER MORGAN AND MADISON COUNTIES IN NORTH ALABAMA.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 5:08 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lamar, Pickens | 52 min |
| Feb 21, 5:51 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion | 69 min |
| Feb 21, 5:57 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens | 48 min |
| Feb 21, 6:00 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar | 60 min |
| Feb 21, 6:05 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 55 min |
| Feb 21, 6:11 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin | 64 min |
| Feb 21, 6:15 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 60 min |
| Feb 21, 6:18 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin | 57 min |
| Feb 21, 6:28 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 62 min |
| Feb 21, 6:32 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence | 58 min |
| Feb 21, 6:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 45 min |
| Feb 21, 6:56 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cullman | 64 min |
| Feb 21, 7:10 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 50 min |
| Feb 21, 7:21 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison | 54 min |
| Feb 21, 7:24 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Morgan | 51 min |
| Feb 21, 7:53 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jackson | 67 min |
| Feb 21, 8:04 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Greene | 56 min |
| Feb 21, 8:21 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 54 min |
| Feb 21, 8:47 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Dallas | 43 min |
| Feb 21, 9:00 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bibb | 45 min |
| Feb 21, 9:22 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga | 38 min |
| Feb 21, 9:29 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 46 min |
| Feb 21, 9:38 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lowndes | 52 min |
| Feb 21, 9:57 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga | 33 min |
| Feb 21, 10:12 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Coosa, Elmore | 48 min |
| Feb 21, 10:19 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 41 min |
| Feb 21, 10:31 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 44 min |
| Feb 21, 10:45 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 45 min |
| Feb 21, 10:57 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 48 min |
| Feb 21, 11:01 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Elmore | 29 min |
| Feb 21, 11:15 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers, Lee | 45 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.