Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 333, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 9, 1997Russell County, Alabama; Muscogee County, Georgia

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 9, 1997, 4:08 PM CDT for Russell County, Alabama; Muscogee County, Georgia. It was in force for 62 min. 2 reports 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: May 9, 1997, 4:08 PM CDT (21:08 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 1997, 5:10 PM CDT
In force: 62 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Russell County, AL, Muscogee County, GA

The radar

The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:11 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 9, 4:15 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Phenix City, AL	Dime size hail was reported in Phenix City.
May 9, 4:30 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Columbus, GA	Several trees were blown down in Columbus.

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
May 9, 3:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 119 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 910 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 63 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 092111 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC113-GAC215-092210-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
408 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 510 PM CDT (610 PM EDT)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...RUSSELL COUNTY

IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA

   ...MUSCOGEE COUNTY
 
AT 406 PM CDT (506 PM EDT)...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM NORTHWEST OF PHENIX CITY MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
THIS STORM PRODUCED DIME SIZE HAIL AT BEAUREGARD IN LEE COUNTY.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 9, 10:35 AM CDT, 5 hours 33 minutes before

ALZ024-091610-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1035 AM CDT FRI MAY 9 1997

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY HAS BEEN
CANCELLED AND IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.  NUMEROUS REPORTS OF MINOR
DAMAGE FROM STRONG WIND HAVE BEEN RECEIVED.

RAIN WILL CONTINUE IN JEFFERSON COUNTY FOR THE NEXT 30 MINUTES OR SO
BEFORE ENDING.

Special weather statement, May 9, 11:13 AM CDT, 4 hours 55 minutes before

ALZ027-091650-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1113 AM CDT FRI MAY 9 1997

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR NORTHERN TALLADEGA  COUNTY HAS
BEEN CANCELLED.  THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE SHIFTED EAST AND WEAKENED.

Special weather statement, May 9, 11:14 AM CDT, 4 hours 54 minutes before

ALZ027-091650-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1113 AM CDT FRI MAY 9 1997

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR NORTHERN TALLADEGA  COUNTY HAS
BEEN CANCELLED.  THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE SHIFTED EAST AND WEAKENED.

Special weather statement, May 9, 3:49 PM CDT, 19 minutes before

GAZ089-092125-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
349 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 1997

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR MUSCOGEE COUNTY HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE WEAKENED AND MOVED EAST OF THE AREA.

Special weather statement, May 9, 3:52 PM CDT, 16 minutes before

GAZ089-092125-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
349 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 1997

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR MUSCOGEE COUNTY HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE WEAKENED AND MOVED EAST OF THE AREA.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 9, 8:27 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Pickens	58 min
May 9, 8:54 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Fayette	46 min
May 9, 9:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Tuscaloosa	60 min
May 9, 9:07 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Walker	48 min
May 9, 9:29 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson	46 min
May 9, 10:17 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jefferson	23 min
May 9, 10:52 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Talladega	48 min
May 9, 2:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Coosa	48 min
May 9, 2:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lee	48 min
May 9, 3:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lee	46 min
May 9, 3:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Muscogee	50 min
May 9, 4:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Chattahoochee	53 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1997 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 1997 Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.