Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 122, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 24, 1997Barbour County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 24, 1997, 11:42 AM CDT for Barbour County, Alabama. It was in force for 33 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
Oct 24, 1997, 11:42 AM CDT (16:42 UTC)
Expired
Oct 24, 1997, 12:15 PM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Barbour County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 187 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 1997-10-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 1997-10-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 423 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
854 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
423 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
597 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 241644 RRA
TORBHM
ALC005-241715-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1142 AM CDT FRI OCT 24 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1215 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHEASTERN ALABAMA

   ...SOUTHERN BARBOUR COUNTY...

AT 1141 AM CDT...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
SOUTHERN BARBOUR COUNTY NEAR BAKERHILL.  DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THE A
TORNADO IS LIKELY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM.  THE STORM WAS MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 40 TO 45 MPH.  THE STORM WILL AFFECT THE TERESE AREA AND
COMMUNITIES ALONG HIGHWAY 431.

<<CALL TO ACTION>>
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE... SEEK SAFETY IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT... SEEK REFUGE 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
Oct 24, 7:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas33 min
Oct 24, 7:31 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Lowndes49 min
Oct 24, 8:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore46 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.