Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 433, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 17, 1997, 2:38 PM CDT for Chilton County, Alabama. It was in force for 62 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
- Jul 17, 1997, 2:38 PM CDT (19:38 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 17, 1997, 3:40 PM CDT
- In force
- 62 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Chilton County, AL
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 37 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1821 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -34 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 957 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -13 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -28 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 171939 RRA SVRBHM ALC021-172040- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 238 PM CDT THU JUL 17 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 340 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN CENTRAL ALABAMA ...CHILTON COUNTY AT 237 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER CHILTON COUNTY NEAR THE TOWN OF CLANTON AND ANOTHER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR JEMISON. THE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTH AT 10 TO 15 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.
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, Jul 17, 9:19 AM CDT, 5 hours 19 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-180000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 920 AM CDT THU JUL 17 1997 SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS BUT NO ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. HOWEVER...THE AIRMASS IS UNSTABLE ENOUGH FOR SOME OF THE STORMS TO PRODUCE STRONG WINDS. DUE TO THEIR SLOW MOVEMENT...RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER ~HOUR ARE POSSIBLE. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE LIKELY TODAY. FOR THE SOUTHERN ALABAMA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...SEE PRODUCT BHMSPSMOB.
Special weather statement, Jul 17, 9:20 AM CDT, 5 hours 18 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-180000- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 920 AM CDT THU JUL 17 1997 SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS BUT NO ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. HOWEVER...THE AIRMASS IS UNSTABLE ENOUGH FOR SOME OF THE STORMS TO PRODUCE STRONG WINDS. DUE TO THEIR SLOW MOVEMENT...RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR ARE POSSIBLE. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE LIKELY TODAY. FOR THE SOUTHERN ALABAMA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...SEE PRODUCT BHMSPSMOB.
Special weather statement, Jul 17, 10:30 AM CDT, 4 hours 8 minutes before
ALZALL-FLZ001>015-171700- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 1030 AM CDT THU JUL 17 1997 THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE WATCH FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES OF SOUTHWEST ALABAMA. AT 10 AM CDT...TROPICAL STORM DANNY WAS LOCATED ABOUT 165 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NEW ORLEANS AND MOVING SLOWLY NORTHEASTWARD. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT STORM CONDITIONS INCLUDING SUSTAINED WINDS WITHIN THE RANGE OF 39 TO 74 MPH ARE EXPECTED IN A SPECIFIED COASTAL AREA WITHIN 24 HOURS. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT A HURRICANE HAS BECOME A THREAT TO COASTAL AREAS AND IS USUALLY ISSUED 24 TO 36 HOURS BEFORE EXPECTED LANDFALL. EVERYONE COVERED BY A WATCH SHOULD LISTEN FOR MORE ADVISORIES AND ACT PROMPTLY IF A WARNING IS ISSUED. A HURRICANE WARNING INDICATES HURRICANE WINDS WILL BE 74 MILES AN HOUR OR GREATER AND HIGH AND ROUGH SEAS ARE EXPECTED IN A SPECIFIC COASTAL AREA WITHIN 24 HOURS. PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS SHOULD BEGIN IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION AND IF YOU ARE PLANNING ANY TRAVEL ANYWHERE NEAR THE COASTAL SECTIONS...BE SURE TO LISTEN FOR ANY UPDATED WEATHER INFORMATION. THE WEATHER OFFICE IN MOBILE WILL BE ISSUING ROUTINE STATEMENTS ON THIS TROPICAL STORM AND AS IT APPROACHES THE COAST...MORE FREQUENT STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED. CLOSE COORDINATION WILL TAKE PLACE BETWEEN THE OFFICE HERE IN BIRMINGHAM AND WITH OTHER WEATHER OFFICES FOR ADDITIONAL TYPES OF WATCHES OR WARNINGS THAT MAY BE NEEDED FOR OTHER PORTIONS OF ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA DUE TO THIS TROPICAL STORM.
Special weather statement, Jul 17, 10:54 AM CDT, 3 hours 44 minutes before
ALZALL-FLZ001>015-171700- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM, AL 1030 AM CDT THU JUL 17 1997 THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE WATCH FOR MOBILE AND BALDWIN COUNTIES OF SOUTHWEST ALABAMA. AT 10 AM CDT...TROPICAL STORM DANNY WAS LOCATED ABOUT 165 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NEW ORLEANS AND MOVING SLOWLY NORTHEASTWARD. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT STORM CONDITIONS INCLUDING SUSTAINED WINDS WITHIN THE RANGE OF 39 TO 74 MPH ARE EXPECTED IN A SPECIFIED COASTAL AREA WITHIN 24 HOURS. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT A HURRICANE HAS BECOME A THREAT TO COASTAL AREAS AND IS USUALLY ISSUED 24 TO 36 HOURS BEFORE EXPECTED LANDFALL. EVERYONE COVERED BY A WATCH SHOULD LISTEN FOR MORE ADVISORIES AND ACT PROMPTLY IF A WARNING IS ISSUED. A HURRICANE WARNING INDICATES HURRICANE WINDS WILL BE 74 MILES AN HOUR OR GREATER AND HIGH AND ROUGH SEAS ARE EXPECTED IN A SPECIFIC COASTAL AREA WITHIN 24 HOURS. PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS SHOULD BEGIN IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION AND IF YOU ARE PLANNING ANY TRAVEL ANYWHERE NEAR THE COASTAL SECTIONS...BE SURE TO LISTEN FOR ANY UPDATED WEATHER INFORMATION. THE WEATHER OFFICE IN MOBILE WILL BE ISSUING ROUTINE STATEMENTS ON THIS TROPICAL STORM AND AS IT APPROACHES THE COAST...MORE FREQUENT STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED. CLOSE COORDINATION WILL TAKE PLACE BETWEEN THE OFFICE HERE IN BIRMINGHAM AND WITH OTHER WEATHER OFFICES FOR ADDITIONAL TYPES OF WATCHES OR WARNINGS THAT MAY BE NEEDED FOR OTHER PORTIONS OF ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST FLORIDA DUE TO THIS TROPICAL STORM.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 2:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 47 min |
| Jul 17, 3:25 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Talladega | 2 hr |
| Jul 17, 3:29 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Shelby | 2 hr |
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.