Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 208, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 30, 1997Bullock County, Macon County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 30, 1997, 5:08 PM CST for Bullock County, Macon County, Alabama. It was in force for 47 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 30, 1997, 5:08 PM CST (23:08 UTC)
Expired
Mar 30, 1997, 5:55 PM CST
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Bullock County, AL, Macon County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 30, 5:30 PM CSTThunderstorm Wind 50Tuskegee, 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
Mar 30, 4:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 145 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 12:00Z on 1997-03-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1997-03-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 108 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1925 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
108 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
73 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 302309 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC011-087-302355-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
508 PM CST SUN MAR 30 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 555 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...BULLOCK
   ...MACON
 
AT 506 PM CST...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY WEATHER
RADAR 8 MILES NORTHWEST OF HECTOR MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE...

HECTOR                      AROUND 515 PM CST
CHESSON                     AROUND 517 PM CST
FITZPATRICK                 AROUND 518 PM CST
HARDAWAY                    AROUND 522 PM CST
SARDIS                      AROUND 526 PM CST
UNION SPRINGS               AROUND 530 PM CST
TUSKEGEE                    AROUND 530 PM CST
 
IN ADDITION TO LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS... EXTREMELY INTENSE
LIGHTNING IS ALSO LIKELY WITH THIS STORM. IF OUTDOORS... STAY
AWAY FROM TALL OBJECTS. MOVE INDOORS IF POSSIBLE. WHEN INDOORS...
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS AND AVOID USING THE TELEPHONES
AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. STAY OUT OF YOUR BATHTUB OR SHOWER
BECAUSE LIGHTNING CAN TRAVEL THROUGH WATER PIPES.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 30, 3:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Dallas, Lowndes57 min
Mar 30, 3:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Montgomery64 min
Mar 30, 4:31 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes59 min
Mar 30, 4:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery44 min
Mar 30, 5:29 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell36 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.