Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 520, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 21, 1997Lowndes County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Nov 21, 1997, 5:05 PM CST for Lowndes County, Alabama. It was in force for 35 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
Nov 21, 1997, 5:05 PM CST (23:05 UTC)
Expired
Nov 21, 1997, 5:40 PM CST
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Lowndes County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Nov 21, 5:10 PM CSTThunderstorm Wind 50Hayneville, ALSeveral trees were down in the Farmersville community, including one, which trapped someone in a car. There were no injuries

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Nov 21, 2:30 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 115 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 1997-11-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 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 12:00Z on 1997-11-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 293 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-66 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
632 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
293 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
335 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 KBHM 212307 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC085-212340-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
505 PM CST FRI NOV 21 1997


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 540 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...SOUTHERN LOWNDES COUNTY...

AT 503 PM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MOVING
INTO SOUTHERN LOWNDES...ABOUT 10 MILES WEST OF FORT DEPOSIT.  THIS
STORM WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AROUND 40 MPH...AND WILL AFFECT THE
CALHOUN...FORT DEPOSIT...AND SANDY RIDGE AREAS BY 530 PM.


<<CALL TO ACTION>>
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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 21, 11:01 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene, Sumter49 min
Nov 21, 5:39 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery31 min
Nov 21, 5:49 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPike31 min
Nov 21, 5:54 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock, Macon46 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.