Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 521, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 21, 1997Montgomery County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Nov 21, 1997, 5:39 PM CST for Montgomery County, Alabama. It was in force for 31 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
Nov 21, 1997, 5:39 PM CST (23:39 UTC)
Expired
Nov 21, 1997, 6:10 PM CST
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Montgomery County, AL

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, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 119 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 212340 RRA
SVRBHM
ALC101-220010-

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


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 610 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...MONTGOMERY COUNTY...

AT 537 PM CST... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A BAND OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING THROUGH MONTGOMERY COUNTY.  THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AROUND
40 MPH...AND WILL AFFECT MOST AREAS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY THROUGH 610
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.

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, 5:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLowndes35 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.