Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 159, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 3, 1997, 1:41 AM CST for Lawrence County, Morgan County, Alabama. It was in force for 64 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
- Mar 3, 1997, 1:41 AM CST (07:41 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 3, 1997, 2:45 AM CST
- In force
- 64 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Lawrence County, AL, Morgan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 11:45 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 148 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
- 18 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -90 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 588 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 70 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 323 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 420 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHSV 030740 RRA SVRHSV ALC079-103-030845- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 141 AM CST MON MAR 3 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS
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
Special weather statement, Mar 3, 1:35 AM CST, 6 minutes before
ALZ011-012-022-030-051-052-030830- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 135 AM CST MON MAR 3 1997 THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HAVE BEEN CLEARED FROM TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 49: MARION...LAMAR...PICKENS...SUMTER...CHOCTAW AND WASHINGTON. A LINE OF POSSIBLE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO SHIFT EAST ACROSS THE STATE. TORNADO WATCH 49 CONTINUES UNTIL 400 AM FOR OTHER COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THIS WATCH.
Special weather statement, Mar 3, 1:37 AM CST, 4 minutes before
ALZ011-012-022-030-051-052-030830- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 135 AM CST MON MAR 3 1997 THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES HAVE BEEN CLEARED FROM TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 49: MARION...LAMAR...PICKENS...SUMTER...CHOCTAW AND WASHINGTON. A LINE OF POSSIBLE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO SHIFT EAST ACROSS THE STATE. TORNADO WATCH 49 CONTINUES UNTIL 400 AM FOR OTHER COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THIS WATCH.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 7:29 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence | 3 hr |
| Mar 2, 7:29 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Lauderdale, Limestone | 3 hr |
| Mar 2, 11:15 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale | 45 min |
| Mar 2, 11:35 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 40 min |
| Mar 2, 11:38 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale | 67 min |
| Mar 2, 11:55 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 50 min |
| Mar 3, 12:05 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 55 min |
| Mar 3, 12:29 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 61 min |
| Mar 3, 12:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence | 60 min |
| Mar 3, 12:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Franklin | 60 min |
| Mar 3, 12:46 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 59 min |
| Mar 3, 12:57 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 18 min |
| Mar 3, 1:02 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 58 min |
| Mar 3, 1:21 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 69 min |
| Mar 3, 2:03 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Limestone | 57 min |
| Mar 3, 2:11 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Madison, Morgan | 64 min |
| Mar 3, 2:41 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marshall | 64 min |
| Mar 3, 2:46 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount | 44 min |
| Mar 3, 2:59 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Etowah | 46 min |
| Mar 3, 3:50 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Coosa, Elmore | 40 min |
| Mar 3, 4:10 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Coosa, Tallapoosa | 65 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.