Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 19, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 8, 1997, 9:24 AM CST for 4 counties in Alabama. It was in force for 51 min. 3 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 8, 1997, 9:24 AM CST (15:24 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 8, 1997, 10:15 AM CST
- In force
- 51 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Autauga County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Elmore County, AL
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:27 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 8, 9:25 AM CST | Hail 0.75 | Prattville, AL | |
| Jan 8, 9:45 AM CST | Hail 0.75 | Rockford, AL | |
| Jan 8, 9:45 AM CST | Hail 0.75 | Eclectic, 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 nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 59 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2059 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 75 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 321 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 466 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 081525 RRA SVRBHM ALC001-021-037-051-081615- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 924 AM CST WED JAN 8 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN CENTRAL ALABAMA ...NORTHEASTERN AUTAUGA COUNTY...SOUTHEASTERN CHILTON COUNTY ...COOSA COUNTY...NORTHWESTERN ELMORE COUNTY RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER NORTHEAST AUTAUGA COUNTY. THIS STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF CHILTON COUNTY AND THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF ELMORE COUNTY THEN INTO MOVE COOSA COUNTY. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THIS STORM IS LARGE HAIL. 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 8, 9:51 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 69 min |
| Jan 8, 10:19 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers | 41 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.