Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 490, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 25, 1997, 2:37 PM CDT for Randolph County, Alabama. It was in force for 48 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
- Oct 25, 1997, 2:37 PM CDT (19:37 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 25, 1997, 3:25 PM CDT
- In force
- 48 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Randolph County, AL
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:44 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 2:50 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Roanoke, AL | Hail the size of quarters was reported in the northern and southern part of Roanoke. |
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
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 89 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
- 989 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 489 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 162 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 191 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.8
- Supercell composite
- 3.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 251938 RRA SVRBHM ALC111-252025- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 237 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 325 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA ...RANDOLPH COUNTY... AT 235 PM CDT... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST EAST OF WADLEY. THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH...AND WILL AFFECT THE ROANOKE AREA BETWEEN 245 AND 315 PM. <<CALL TO ACTION>> IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE... SEEK REFUGE FROM THE STORM IN A STRONG BUILDING. BOATERS ON AREA LAKES SHOULD TAKE SHELTER. DAMAGING WIND... LARGE HAIL... VERY HEAVY RAIN... AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE ALL LIKELY. DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER TREES OR OTHER ISOLATED TALL OBJECTS. THESE ATTRACT LIGHTNING. DO NOT 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
Local storm report, Oct 25, 12:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
1250 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1240 PM JONES CHAPEL AL .75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97 CULLMAN DIME SIZE HAIL IN JONES
CHAPEL
1249 PM CULLMAN AL 1.75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97 CULLMAN GOLF-BALL SIZE HAIL AT
WEST POINT TO THE
NORTHWEST OF CITY OF
CULLMANLocal storm report, Oct 25, 12:52 PM CDT, 1 hour 45 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
1250 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1240 PM JONES CHAPEL AL .75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97 CULLMAN DIME SIZE HAIL IN JONES
CHAPEL
1249 PM CULLMAN AL 1.75 INCH HAIL
10/258/97 CULLMAN GOLF-BALL SIZE HAIL AT
WEST POINT TO THE
NORTHWEST OF CITY OF
CULLMANLocal storm report, Oct 25, 1:06 PM CDT, 1 hour 31 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
106 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1254 PM CULLMAN AL .88 INCH HAIL
10/25/97 CULLMAN NICKEL SIZE HAIL AT
JUNCTION OF HWY. 157 AND
I-65
0105 PM CULLMAN AL 2.75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97 CULLMAN BASEBALL SIZE HAIL AT
CULLMANLocal storm report, Oct 25, 1:07 PM CDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
106 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1254 PM CULLMAN AL .88 INCH HAIL
10/25/97 CULLMAN NICKEL SIZE HAIL AT
JUNCTION OF HWY. 157 AND
I-65
0105 PM CULLMAN AL 2.75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97 CULLMAN BASEBALL SIZE HAIL AT
CULLMANLocal storm report, Oct 25, 1:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 12 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
125 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0115 PM CULLMAN AL WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97 CULLMAN NUMEROUS LARGE TREES DOWN
ON HOMES AND VEHICLES IN
CULLMAN...ALSO SHED ROOFS
BLOWN OFFLocal storm report, Oct 25, 1:27 PM CDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM
125 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0115 PM CULLMAN AL WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97 CULLMAN NUMEROUS LARGE TREES DOWN
ON HOMES AND VEHICLES IN
CULLMAN...ALSO SHED ROOFS
BLOWN OFFThe office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 8:08 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | DeKalb | 52 min |
| Oct 25, 10:18 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin | 42 min |
| Oct 25, 10:18 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion | 47 min |
| Oct 25, 10:59 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin | 61 min |
| Oct 25, 11:00 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion | 45 min |
| Oct 25, 11:10 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 45 min |
| Oct 25, 11:45 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 60 min |
| Oct 25, 11:48 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 47 min |
| Oct 25, 12:20 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cullman | 65 min |
| Oct 25, 12:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lawrence, Limestone, Morgan | 68 min |
| Oct 25, 1:04 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount | 51 min |
| Oct 25, 1:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison, Marshall | 67 min |
| Oct 25, 1:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 48 min |
| Oct 25, 1:27 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pike | 48 min |
| Oct 25, 2:13 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Bullock, Macon | 52 min |
| Oct 25, 2:27 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pike | 48 min |
| Oct 25, 2:34 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Russell | 46 min |
| Oct 25, 2:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Barbour | 50 min |
| Oct 25, 4:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Franklin | 69 min |
| Oct 25, 5:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence | 60 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.