Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 240, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 22, 1997Coosa County, Talladega County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 22, 1997, 3:18 PM CDT for Coosa County, Talladega County, Alabama. It was in force for 47 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 22, 1997, 3:18 PM CDT (20:18 UTC)
Expired
Apr 22, 1997, 4:05 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Coosa County, AL, Talladega County, AL

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 22, 2:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 53 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 1997-04-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1576 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 1997-04-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 117 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
1576 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-52 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
667 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
117 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
216 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
6.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 222020 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC037-121-222105-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
318 PM CDT TUE APR 22 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 405 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...COOSA
   ...TALLADEGA
 
AT 317 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE JUST WEST VINCENT TO THE CLANTON AND PLETCHER
AREAS.  THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 40 TO 45 MPH.

DAMAGING WIND GUSTS GREATER THAN 60 MPH AND LARGE HAIL CAN BE 
EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.

 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT FOR
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 21, 7:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston56 min
Apr 21, 7:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson55 min
Apr 21, 7:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone55 min
Apr 21, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison43 min
Apr 21, 10:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun67 min
Apr 21, 11:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne43 min
Apr 22, 1:03 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby57 min
Apr 22, 1:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega48 min
Apr 22, 1:33 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay57 min
Apr 22, 1:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin66 min
Apr 22, 2:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene, Hale, Marengo, Sumter48 min
Apr 22, 2:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert62 min
Apr 22, 2:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount, Jefferson, Walker50 min
Apr 22, 2:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa50 min
Apr 22, 2:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby48 min
Apr 22, 2:45 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBibb35 min
Apr 22, 2:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Dallas, Lowndes49 min
Apr 22, 2:55 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXShelby35 min
Apr 22, 3:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton47 min
Apr 22, 3:14 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDallas46 min
Apr 22, 3:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Montgomery45 min
Apr 22, 3:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa49 min
Apr 22, 3:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Lowndes50 min
Apr 22, 3:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay46 min
Apr 22, 3:52 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLowndes48 min
Apr 22, 4:00 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb30 min
Apr 22, 4:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Montgomery48 min
Apr 22, 4:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers, Randolph50 min
Apr 22, 4:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa50 min
Apr 22, 4:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock, Macon48 min
Apr 22, 4:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLee49 min
Apr 22, 4:27 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXChambers48 min
Apr 22, 4:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo49 min
Apr 22, 5:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter48 min
Apr 22, 5:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell46 min
Apr 22, 6:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas49 min
Apr 22, 6:17 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDallas43 min
Apr 22, 6:26 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLowndes49 min
Apr 22, 6:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Elmore, Montgomery52 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.