Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 343, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 26, 1997Marion County, Winston County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 26, 1997, 11:01 PM CDT for Marion County, Winston County, Alabama. It was in force for 49 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: May 26, 1997, 11:01 PM CDT (04:01 UTC)
Expired: May 26, 1997, 11:50 PM CDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Marion County, AL, Winston County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 26, 11:48 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Moreland, AL	Three-quarter inch hail was reported in Moreland, in northern Winston 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 26, 10:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 133 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: 2887 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1128 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 83 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 101 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.7
Supercell composite: 5.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

670 
WUUS1 KBHM 270402 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC093-133-270450-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1101 PM CDT MON MAY 26 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1150 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

   ...MARION COUNTY
   ...WINSTON COUNTY
 
AT 1100 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING OVER THE NORTHERN PARTS OF MARION AND WINSTON COUNTIES.  THESE
STORMS WILL AFFECT MOST LOCATIONS ACROSS BOTH COUNTIES.  THE STORMS
WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 60 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 DONT
DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 26, 9:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lauderdale	62 min
May 26, 10:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Colbert	42 min
May 26, 10:53 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Colbert, Franklin	67 min
May 26, 11:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lawrence	60 min
May 26, 11:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Winston	36 min
May 27, 12:04 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cullman	61 min
May 27, 12:19 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Winston	36 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 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.