Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 364, NWS Birmingham, AL

June 14, 1997Chambers County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 14, 1997, 1:04 PM CDT for Chambers County, Alabama. It was in force for 31 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
Jun 14, 1997, 1:04 PM CDT (18:04 UTC)
Expired
Jun 14, 1997, 1:35 PM CDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Chambers County, AL

The radar

The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:03 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 14, 1:05 PM CDTHail 1.75Lafayette, ALGolf ball sized hail was reported by the EMA.

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 nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 97 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 1997-06-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1780 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 1997-06-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 133 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
1780 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
511 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
133 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 141805 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC017-141835-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
104 PM CDT SAT JUN 14 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 135 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...CHAMBERS COUNTY
 
AT 101 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF FREDONIA MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.  THIS STORM HAS THE
POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WINDS ALONG WITH GOLF BALL SIZED HAIL.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE...
FREDONIA                    AROUND 109 PM CDT
HUGULEY                     AROUND 115 PM CDT
LANETT                      AROUND 120 PM CDT
VALLEY                      AROUND 124 PM CDT
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE... SEEK REFUGE FROM THE STORM IN A
STRONG BUILDING. BOATERS ON AREA LAKES SHOULD TAKE SHELTER.
DAMAGING WIND... LARGE HAIL... VERY HEAVY RAIN... AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE ALL LIKELY. DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER TREES OR OTHER
ISOLATED TALL OBJECTS. THESE ATTRACT LIGHTNING. DO NOT DRIVE INTO
AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 13, 9:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega31 min
Jun 13, 9:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun30 min
Jun 13, 9:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee33 min
Jun 13, 9:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne36 min
Jun 13, 11:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert, Franklin60 min
Jun 14, 12:03 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLauderdale57 min
Jun 14, 12:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin, Lawrence65 min
Jun 14, 12:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMorgan65 min
Jun 14, 2:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette34 min
Jun 14, 4:25 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXFayette, Lamar, Walker2 hr
Jun 14, 2:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell30 min
Jun 14, 3:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell47 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.