Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 140, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 25, 1997, 7:44 PM CDT for Morgan County, Alabama. It was in force for 61 min. 2 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
- Oct 25, 1997, 7:44 PM CDT (00:44 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 25, 1997, 8:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 61 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Morgan County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 7:57 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Decatur, AL | |
| Oct 25, 7:57 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Decatur, 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 nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 142 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 925 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -10 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 511 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 245 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 269 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.4
- Supercell composite
- 7.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHSV 260044 RRA TORHSV ALC103-260145- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 744 PM CDT (644 PM CST) SAT OCT 25 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 845 PM CDT (745 PM CST) FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTH ALABAMA ...MORGAN COUNTY AT 740 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO IN EASTERN LAWRENCE COUNTY EAST OF MOULTON. THIS STORM WILL MOVE INTO WESTERN MORGAN COUNTY BY 755 PM. THIS STORM IS MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 35 MILES PER HOUR. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 7:03 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 57 min |
| Oct 25, 7:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 57 min |
| Oct 25, 8:05 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Madison | 55 min |
| Oct 25, 8:52 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 48 min |
| Oct 25, 9:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bullock | 36 min |
| Oct 25, 11:28 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Madison | 47 min |
| Oct 26, 12:38 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount, Jefferson | 32 min |
| Oct 26, 1:42 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 33 min |
| Oct 26, 1:49 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 66 min |
| Oct 26, 1:08 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Etowah | 47 min |
| Oct 26, 3:09 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 46 min |
| Oct 26, 3:17 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 63 min |
| Oct 26, 3:50 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Elmore | 45 min |
| Oct 26, 3:52 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 33 min |
| Oct 26, 4:04 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Etowah, St. Clair | 4 hr |
| Oct 26, 4:25 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Cherokee | 5 hr |
| Oct 26, 4:28 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Macon | 52 min |
| Oct 26, 4:28 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Macon | 47 min |
| Oct 26, 4:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lowndes | 50 min |
| Oct 26, 4:47 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Russell | 48 min |
| Oct 26, 4:57 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 48 min |
| Oct 26, 5:01 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lee | 49 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.