Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 222, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 21, 1997Lawrence County, Morgan County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 21, 1997, 6:53 PM CDT for Lawrence County, Morgan County, Alabama. It was in force for 67 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 21, 1997, 6:53 PM CDT (23:53 UTC)
Expired
Apr 21, 1997, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Lawrence County, AL, Morgan County, AL

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 21, 1:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr
Apr 21, 6:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 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

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

000 
TTAA00 KHSV 212351 RRA
SVRHSV
ALC079-103-220100-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
653 PM CDT MON APR 21 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  800 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...LAWRENCE COUNTY...MORGAN COUNTY
 
AT 648 PM CDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN HUNTSVILLE INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM OVER NORTHERN LAWRENCE COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING
EASTWARD AT 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR...AND WILL BE MOVING INTO NORTHWEST
MORGAN COUNTY BY 705 PM.
 
 
 
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.

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, 6:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion62 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.