Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 141, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 25, 1997Madison County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 25, 1997, 8:05 PM CDT for Madison 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
Oct 25, 1997, 8:05 PM CDT (01:05 UTC)
Expired
Oct 25, 1997, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Madison County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 152 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1997-10-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 152 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1997-10-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 165 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
152 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
560 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
157 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHSV 260105 RRA
TORHSV
ALC089-260200-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
805 PM CDT (705 PM CST) SAT OCT 25 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM CDT (800 PM CST)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...MADISON COUNTY
 
AT 802 PM WEATHER RADAR IN HUNTSVILLE INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO EAST
OF DECATUR IN MORGAN COUNTY. THIS STORM WILL LIKELY MOVE INTO
SOUTHWESTERN MADISON COUNTY NEAR THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BY 815 PM
CDT.
 
THIS STORM IS MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 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 CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 25, 7:03 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLawrence57 min
Oct 25, 7:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone57 min
Oct 25, 7:44 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMorgan61 min
Oct 25, 8:52 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery48 min
Oct 25, 9:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock36 min
Oct 25, 11:28 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison47 min
Oct 26, 12:38 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXBlount, Jefferson32 min
Oct 26, 1:42 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXJefferson33 min
Oct 26, 1:49 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXSt. Clair66 min
Oct 26, 1:08 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXCalhoun, Etowah47 min
Oct 26, 3:09 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXCherokee46 min
Oct 26, 3:17 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMontgomery63 min
Oct 26, 3:50 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXElmore45 min
Oct 26, 3:52 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery33 min
Oct 26, 4:04 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXCalhoun, Etowah, St. Clair4 hr
Oct 26, 4:25 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningBMXCherokee5 hr
Oct 26, 4:28 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXMacon52 min
Oct 26, 4:28 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXMacon47 min
Oct 26, 4:45 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXLowndes50 min
Oct 26, 4:47 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXRussell48 min
Oct 26, 4:57 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXMontgomery48 min
Oct 26, 5:01 AM CSTTornado WarningBMXLee49 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.