Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 162, NWS Birmingham, AL

November 30, 1997Limestone County, Madison County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 30, 1997, 12:14 PM CST for Limestone County, Madison County, Alabama. It was in force for 46 min. 1 report 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: Nov 30, 1997, 12:14 PM CST (18:14 UTC)
Expired: Nov 30, 1997, 1:00 PM CST
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS Birmingham, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Nov 30, 1:08 PM CST	Hail 0.75	Capshaw, AL	Hail covered the ground just west of Capshaw.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Nov 30, 11:00 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 6.2 hours before the alert went out and 150 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 194 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 496 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 77 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHSV 301814
TORHSV
ALC083-089-301900-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
1214 PM CST SUN NOV 30 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  100 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...EASTERN LIMESTONE COUNTY...NORTHWESTERN MADISON COUNTY
 
AT 1210 PM...RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR THE LIMESTONE/
MADISON COUNTY LINE...AROUND CAPSHAW...PETES CORNER AREA.
 
IT WAS MOVING TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
 
 
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 AVAIzLABLE...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.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 30, 11:53 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Limestone	52 min
Nov 30, 12:06 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Madison	54 min
Nov 30, 12:35 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Lauderdale	40 min
Nov 30, 12:59 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	BMX	Madison	46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1997 Every tornado warning in 1997 Tornadoes 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.