Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 421, NWS Birmingham, AL

July 9, 1997Bibb County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 9, 1997, 5:25 PM CDT for Bibb County, Alabama. It was in force for 50 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
Jul 9, 1997, 5:25 PM CDT (22:25 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 1997, 6:15 PM CDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Bibb County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 9, 5:32 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50West Blocton, ALTrees were down along CR 24 and CR 27 near West Blocton.

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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 38 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 12:00Z on 1997-07-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 276 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1997-07-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 37 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
276 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-123 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
962 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
50 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

558 
WUUS1 KBHM 092226 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC007-092315-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
525 PM CDT WED JUL 9 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN CENTRAL ALABAMA
 
   ...BIBB COUNTY
 
AT 525 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR WEST BLOCTON.
THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTH AT 15 MPH.
 
 
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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 8, 7:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale51 min
Jul 9, 2:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker46 min
Jul 9, 3:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson, Tuscaloosa45 min
Jul 9, 4:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston37 min
Jul 9, 4:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa44 min
Jul 9, 4:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker58 min
Jul 9, 5:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette44 min
Jul 9, 6:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar, Marion48 min
Jul 9, 6:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa47 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.