Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 100, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 26, 1997Colbert County, Franklin County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 26, 1997, 10:53 PM CDT for Colbert County, Franklin County, Alabama. It was in force for 67 min. 5 reports 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: May 26, 1997, 10:53 PM CDT (03:53 UTC)
Expired: May 27, 1997, 12:00 AM CDT
In force: 67 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Colbert County, AL, Franklin County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where
May 26, 11:03 PM CDT	Hail 1	Tuscumbia, AL
May 26, 11:05 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Tuscumbia, AL
May 26, 11:07 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Russellville, AL
May 26, 11:12 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Russellville, AL
May 26, 11:15 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Phil Campbell, AL

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 26, 10:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 182 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2887 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1128 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 83 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 101 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.7
Supercell composite: 5.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KHSV 270353 RRA
TORHSV
ALC033-059-270500-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
1053 PM CDT MON MAY 26 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...COLBERT COUNTY...FRANKLIN COUNTY
 
AT 1050 PM...RADAR WAS SHOWING A STRONG ROTATION WEST OF TUSCUMBIA AND
THERE IS A HIGH PROBABILITY FOR TORNADIC FORMATION WITH THIS SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM.
 
LARGE HAIL COVERED THE GROUND NORTH OF CHEROKEE AND PEA RIDGE IN
LAUDERDALE COUNTY.
 
DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO.  CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS.  IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF
A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING.  IF NO
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.
 
 
 
&

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 26, 9:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lauderdale	62 min
May 26, 10:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Colbert	42 min
May 26, 11:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Marion, Winston	49 min
May 26, 11:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lawrence	60 min
May 26, 11:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	BMX	Winston	36 min
May 27, 12:04 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Cullman	61 min
May 27, 12:19 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Winston	36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1997 Every tornado warning in 1997 Tornadoes 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.