Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 469, NWS Birmingham, AL

August 19, 1997Lawrence County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 19, 1997, 8:21 PM CDT for Lawrence County, Alabama. It was in force for 69 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
Aug 19, 1997, 8:21 PM CDT (01:21 UTC)
Expired
Aug 19, 1997, 9:30 PM CDT
In force
69 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Lawrence County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 1.4 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 1997-08-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2377 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 1997-08-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 27 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
2377 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1003 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
27 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
68 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 200120 RRA
SVRHSV
ALC079-200230-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
821 PM CDT TUE AUG 19 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  930 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...LAWRENCE COUNTY
 
AT 815 PM...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED LARGE HAIL IN THE
THUNDERSTORM CENTERED OVER THE FRANKLIN...COLBERT AND LAWRENCE
COUNTY LINES. THAT STORM WAS MOVING TOWARDS THE EAST AT 20 MPH
AND SHOULD PASS JUST NORTH OF THE BANKHEAD FOREST BETWEEN 830 AND
900 PM.  IT COULD REACH TO NEAR DECATUR JUST AFTER 9 PM.
 
 
 
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.  HEAVY 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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 2:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes, Montgomery45 min
Aug 20, 3:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour69 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.