Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 218, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 21, 1997, 4:03 PM CDT for Colbert County, Lawrence County, Alabama. It was in force for 57 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
- Apr 21, 1997, 4:03 PM CDT (21:03 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 21, 1997, 5:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 57 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Colbert County, AL, Lawrence County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 4:06 PM CDT | Hail 0.88 | Tuscumbia, AL | Nickel sized hail was reported in Tuscumbia. |
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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 175 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
- 489 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -29 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 545 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 73 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 51 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHSV 212102 RRA SVRHSV ALC033-079-212200- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 403 PM CDT MON APR 21 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 500 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSS... IN NORTH ALABAMA ...EASTERN COLBERT COUNTY...NORTHERN LAWRENCE COUNTY AT 4OO PM...RADAR SHOWED AN INTENSIFYING THUNDERSTORM NEAR TUSCUMBIA... OR JUST SOUTHWEST OF MUSCLE SHOALS...TO BE MOVING TOWARDS THE EAST AT NEAR 25 MPH. HAIL HAS BEEN INCREASING IN SIZE OVER THE LAST 15 MINUTES. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER... PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lauderdale | 56 min |
| Apr 21, 3:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 64 min |
| Apr 21, 6:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lauderdale, Limestone | 67 min |
| Apr 21, 6:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison | 55 min |
| Apr 21, 6:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 62 min |
| Apr 21, 6:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence, Morgan | 67 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.