Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 403, NWS Birmingham, AL

July 4, 1997Lawrence County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 4, 1997, 4:25 PM CDT for Lawrence County, Alabama. It was in force for 65 min. 6 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: Jul 4, 1997, 4:25 PM CDT (21:25 UTC)
Expired: Jul 4, 1997, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 65 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

County Lawrence County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where
Jul 4, 4:55 PM CDT	Hail 0.88	Town Creek, AL
Jul 4, 5:00 PM CDT	Hail 1	Hatton, AL
Jul 4, 5:00 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52	Hatton, AL
Jul 4, 5:10 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Mt Hope, AL
Jul 4, 5:15 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Moulton, AL
Jul 4, 5:20 PM CDT	Hail 1	Moulton, AL

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
Jul 4, 2:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 157 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: 3053 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -111 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 959 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 19 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHSV 042123 RRA
SVRHSV
ALC079-042230-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
425 PM CDT FRI JUL 4 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...LAWRENCE COUNTY
 
AT 420 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN HUNTSVILLE
INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO LAWRENCE COUNTY
NORTH OF TOWN CREEK.
 
THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE PART OF A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING
SOUTHEAST THROUGH COLBERT...LAUDERDALE...AND LIMESTONE
COUNTIES.
 
THERE HAVE BEEN NEMEROUS REPORTS OF LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
WINDS WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS.
 
 
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
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.  HnEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T 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
Jul 4, 2:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lauderdale	67 min
Jul 4, 3:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Colbert	68 min
Jul 4, 3:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lauderdale, Limestone	58 min
Jul 4, 4:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Madison	64 min
Jul 4, 4:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Franklin	57 min
Jul 4, 4:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Jackson	57 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.