Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 384, NWS Birmingham, AL

June 17, 1997Franklin County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 17, 1997, 5:24 AM CDT for Franklin County, Alabama. It was in force for 66 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
Jun 17, 1997, 5:24 AM CDT (10:24 UTC)
Expired
Jun 17, 1997, 6:30 AM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Franklin County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 171 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 00:00Z on 1997-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2362 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1997-06-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 30 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
2362 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1052 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
41 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 KHSV 171024 RRA
SVRHSV
ALC033-059-077-171130-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
524 AM CDT TUE JUN 17 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  630 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...COLBERT COUNTY...FRANKLIN COUNTY...LAUDERDALE COUNTY
 
AT 520 THIS MORNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN HUNTSVILLE
INDICATED POSSIBLE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING WINDS IN
THE CENTRAL PORTIONS OF COLBERT AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES OF NORTHWEST
ALABAMA. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO LAUDERDALE
COUNTYY NEAR FLORENCE DURING THE NEXT 30 MINUTES.
 
THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.
 
WINDS OF 50 TO 60 MILES AN HOUR WERE INDICATED BY RADAR AND
TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN AS THE STORMS PASSED THROUGH THE
PLEALSANT SITE AREA OF WESTERN FRANKLIN COUNTY.
 
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.
 
 
 
&

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, Jun 17, 3:25 AM CDT, 1 hour 59 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-171300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
325 AM CDT TUE JUN 17 1997

...STRONG/SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED ACROSS PARTS OF NORTH...CENTRAL
ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA...

AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WAS MOVING ACROSS PARTS OF
ARKANSAS...TENNESSEE...AND MISSISSIPPI THIS MORNING.  AN ABUNDANT
AMOUNT OF MOISTURE IS AVAILABLE ACROSS YOUR AREA FOR THE TROUGH OF LOW
PRESSURE TO WORK WITH.  STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
MOVE ACROSS THE NORTH AND CENTRAL PARTS OF THE STATE THIS MORNING WITH
REDEVELOPMENT POSSIBLE DURING THE AFTERNOON.  THE HEAT OF THE SUN WILL
HELP PRODUCE MORE STORMS DURING THE AFTERNOON FURTHER SOUTH AND INTO
PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA.

THE SEVERE STORMS WILL PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH
...LARGE HAIL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES...AND POSSIBLY A TORNADO.
IN ADDITION...VERY HEAVY RAINFALL IS EXPECTED WITH THE STORMS AND MAY
PRODUCE FLOODING OF LOW LYING OR POORLY DRAINED AREAS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST
UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS DANGEROUS WEATHER
SITUATION.
Special weather statement, Jun 17, 3:26 AM CDT, 1 hour 58 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-171300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
325 AM CDT TUE JUN 17 1997

...STRONG/SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED ACROSS PARTS OF NORTH...CENTRAL
ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA...

AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WAS MOVING ACROSS PARTS OF
ARKANSAS...TENNESSEE...AND MISSISSIPPI THIS MORNING.  AN ABUNDANT
AMOUNT OF MOISTURE IS AVAILABLE ACROSS YOUR AREA FOR THE TROUGH OF LOW
PRESSURE TO WORK WITH.  STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
MOVE ACROSS THE NORTH AND CENTRAL PARTS OF THE STATE THIS MORNING WITH
REDEVELOPMENT POSSIBLE DURING THE AFTERNOON.  THE HEAT OF THE SUN WILL
HELP PRODUCE MORE STORMS DURING THE AFTERNOON FURTHER SOUTH AND INTO
PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA.

THE SEVERE STORMS WILL PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH
...LARGE HAIL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES...AND POSSIBLY A TORNADO.
IN ADDITION...VERY HEAVY RAINFALL IS EXPECTED WITH2 THE STORMS AND MAY
PRODUCE FLOODING OF LOW LYING OR POORLY DRAINED AREAS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST
UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS DANGEROUS WEATHER
SITUATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 16, 7:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes48 min
Jun 16, 7:23 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTallapoosa32 min
Jun 16, 7:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes, Montgomery50 min
Jun 16, 7:57 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTallapoosa48 min
Jun 16, 8:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLee46 min
Jun 16, 8:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore33 min
Jun 16, 8:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers35 min
Jun 17, 5:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert, Lauderdale66 min
Jun 17, 12:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson46 min
Jun 17, 12:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLee, Russell31 min
Jun 17, 1:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers51 min
Jun 17, 1:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair49 min
Jun 17, 1:28 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXSt. Clair32 min
Jun 17, 1:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega47 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.