Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 106, NWS Birmingham, AL

June 16, 1997Colbert County, Lawrence County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Jun 16, 1997, 2:20 PM CDT for Colbert County, Lawrence County, Alabama. It was in force for 55 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
Jun 16, 1997, 2:20 PM CDT (19:20 UTC)
Expired
Jun 16, 1997, 3:15 PM CDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Colbert County, AL, Lawrence County, AL

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jun 16, 1:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 175 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 1997-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 108 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 1997-06-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 136 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
108 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
897 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
136 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
212 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

197 
WFUS1 KHSV 161920 RRA
TORHSV
ALC033-079-162015-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
220 PM CDT MON JUN 16 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  315 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...COLBERT COUNTY...LAWRENCE COUNTY
 
AT 217 PM CDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN HUNTSVILLE INDICATED POSSIBLE
TORNADOS OVER COLBERT COUNTY EAST OF LITTLEVILLE...AND OVER LAWRENCE
COUNTY NEAR HATTON AND HILLSBORO.
 
TORNADO WARNING CONTINUES FOR FRANKLIN COUNTY UNTIL 300 PM CDT...AND FOR
LIMESTONE COUNTY UNTIL 245 PM CDT.
 
MOVEMENT WAS EAST AROUND 20 MILES AN HOUR.
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 16, 1:08 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXColbert67 min
Jun 16, 1:13 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLawrence62 min
Jun 16, 1:50 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLimestone55 min
Jun 16, 2:02 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFranklin58 min
Jun 16, 3:03 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMorgan57 min
Jun 16, 3:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarion62 min
Jun 16, 3:13 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison62 min
Jun 16, 3:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin56 min
Jun 16, 3:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence, Limestone63 min
Jun 16, 3:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall69 min
Jun 16, 4:01 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMorgan59 min
Jun 16, 4:05 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarshall55 min
Jun 16, 4:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne65 min
Jun 16, 4:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman, Walker48 min
Jun 16, 4:53 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTalladega47 min
Jun 16, 4:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount, Jefferson64 min
Jun 16, 5:10 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXJefferson50 min
Jun 16, 5:16 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXClay49 min
Jun 16, 5:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair, Shelby64 min
Jun 16, 6:02 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXClay33 min
Jun 16, 6:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega51 min
Jun 16, 6:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPickens64 min
Jun 16, 6:16 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXTallapoosa49 min
Jun 16, 6:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay49 min

Nearby

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