Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 144, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 26, 1997Blount County, Jefferson County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 26, 1997, 12:38 AM CDT for Blount County, Jefferson County, Alabama. It was in force for 32 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 26, 1997, 12:38 AM CDT (05:38 UTC)
Expired
Oct 26, 1997, 1:10 AM CDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Blount County, AL, Jefferson 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, 9:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr
Oct 26, 12:00 AM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 5.6 hours before the alert went out and 65 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 00:00Z on 1997-10-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 925 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 00:00Z on 1997-10-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 245 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 260538 RRA
TORBHM
ALC009-073-260610-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1238 AM CDT SUN OCT 26 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 110 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

   ...BLOUNT COUNTY...

IN CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...NORTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY...

AT 1236 AM CDT... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 5 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF REMLAP MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE...
REMLAP                      AROUND 1238 AM CDT...
ALLGOOD                     AROUND 1250 AM CDT...
ONEONTA                     AROUND 1255 AM CDT...

<<CALL TO ACTION>>
IF YOU LIVE IN A HOME OR APARTMENT... SEEK REFUGE IN THE INNERMOST
PORTION OF THE BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. GET TO A BASEMENT IF ONE
IS AVAILABLE. AVOID WINDOWS AND PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS
WITH CUSHIONS... BLANKETS... OR PILLOWS.

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, 8:05 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMadison55 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, 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.