Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 199, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 29, 1997Cherokee County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 29, 1997, 1:30 AM CST for Cherokee County, Alabama. It was in force for 35 min. 1 report 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
Mar 29, 1997, 1:30 AM CST (07:30 UTC)
Expired
Mar 29, 1997, 2:05 AM CST
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Cherokee County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 29, 1:50 AM CSTHail 1.75Gaylesville, 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

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 136 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 1997-03-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1292 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 1997-03-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 207 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1292 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
660 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
207 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
209 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
6.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 290730 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC019-290805-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
130 AM CST SAT MAR 29 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 205 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

   ...CHEROKEE
 
AT 128 AM CST...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY WEATHER
RADAR 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF CEDAR BLUFF MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE...
CEDAR BLUFF                 AROUND 130 AM CST
GAYLESVILLE                 AROUND 133 AM CST
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE... SEEK REFUGE FROM THE STORM IN A
STRONG BUILDING. BOATERS ON AREA LAKES SHOULD TAKE SHELTER.
DAMAGING WIND... LARGE HAIL... VERY HEAVY RAIN... AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE ALL LIKELY. DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER TREES OR OTHER
ISOLATED TALL OBJECTS. THESE ATTRACT LIGHTNING. DO NOT DRIVE INTO
AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 28, 8:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale64 min
Mar 28, 10:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence58 min
Mar 28, 10:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan58 min
Mar 29, 12:13 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman32 min
Mar 29, 12:20 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker50 min
Mar 29, 12:25 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount65 min
Mar 29, 12:39 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb66 min
Mar 29, 1:04 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair31 min
Mar 29, 1:10 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah65 min
Mar 29, 1:23 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun62 min
Mar 29, 2:00 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair20 min
Mar 29, 2:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun30 min
Mar 29, 2:51 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne64 min
Mar 29, 5:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell49 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.