Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 138, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 25, 1997Colbert County, Franklin County, Lawrence County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 25, 1997, 5:45 PM CDT for Colbert County, Franklin County, Lawrence County, Alabama. It was in force for 60 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 25, 1997, 5:45 PM CDT (22:45 UTC)
Expired
Oct 25, 1997, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Colbert County, AL, Franklin 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
Oct 25, 3:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 173 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 1997-10-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1546 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 1997-10-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 119 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1546 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
507 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
119 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
191 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
4.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHSV 252247 RRA
TORHSV
ALC033-059-079-252345-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
545 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...SOUTHEASTERN COLBERT COUNTY...FRANKLIN COUNTY
   ...LAWRENCE COUNTY
 
AT 540 PM CDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO JUST
NORTHEAST OF RUSSELLVILLE AND COULD MOVE INTO SOUTHEASTERN COLBERT
COUNTY NEAR LITTLEVILLE BY 550 PM. THIS STORM COULD MOVE INTO LAWRENCE
COUNTY BY 555 PM.
 
THESE STORMS ARE MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES PER HOUR.
 
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIRONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 25, 8:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb52 min
Oct 25, 10:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin42 min
Oct 25, 10:18 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarion47 min
Oct 25, 10:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin61 min
Oct 25, 11:00 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarion45 min
Oct 25, 11:10 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXWinston45 min
Oct 25, 11:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLawrence60 min
Oct 25, 11:48 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXWinston47 min
Oct 25, 12:20 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCullman65 min
Oct 25, 12:22 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLawrence, Limestone, Morgan68 min
Oct 25, 1:04 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBlount51 min
Oct 25, 1:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison, Marshall67 min
Oct 25, 1:22 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery48 min
Oct 25, 1:27 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXPike48 min
Oct 25, 2:13 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBullock, Macon52 min
Oct 25, 2:27 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXPike48 min
Oct 25, 2:34 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXRussell46 min
Oct 25, 2:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRandolph48 min
Oct 25, 2:45 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBarbour50 min
Oct 25, 4:36 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFranklin69 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.