Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 221, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 21, 1997Marion County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 21, 1997, 6:43 PM CDT for Marion County, Alabama. It was in force for 62 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, 6:43 PM CDT (23:43 UTC)
Expired
Apr 21, 1997, 7:45 PM CDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Marion County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 21, 6:58 PM CDTHail 1Bear Creek, ALDime to quarter size hail was reported between Bear Creek and Hackleburg, in the northern part of the county.

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
Apr 21, 6:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1997-04-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 489 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1997-04-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 73 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 21, 2:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale56 min
Apr 21, 3:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone64 min
Apr 21, 4:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert, Lawrence57 min
Apr 21, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale, Limestone67 min
Apr 21, 6:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison55 min
Apr 21, 6:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence, Morgan67 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.