Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Jan 24, 1997, 7:24 AM CST for Elmore County, Montgomery County, Alabama. It was in force for 51 min. 4 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
- Jan 24, 1997, 7:24 AM CST (13:24 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 24, 1997, 8:15 AM CST
- In force
- 51 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Elmore County, AL, Montgomery County, AL
The radar
The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 39 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:26 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 7:25 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Montgomery, AL | |
| Jan 24, 7:30 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 55 | Millbrook, AL | |
| Jan 24, 7:37 AM CST | Tornado F1 | Elmore, AL | |
| Jan 24, 7:52 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Santuck, 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 6:45 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 1.4 hours before the alert went out and 103 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
- 379 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -22 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 510 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 316 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 348 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KBHM 241325 RRA TORBHM ALC051-101-241415- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL 724 AM CST FRI JAN 24 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 815 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN CENTRAL ALABAMA ...ELMORE COUNTY...MONTGOMERY COUNTY AT 723 AM RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT MAY CONTAIN TORNADOES MOVING INTO THE WESTERN PORTION OF ELMORE AND MONTGOMERY COUNTIES. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AROUND 45 MPH AND WILL EFFECT THE MONTGOMERY...WETUMPKA...AND LAKE JORDAN AREAS BY 745 AM...AND THE ECLECTIC AREA AROUND 800 AM. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 6:37 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Dallas | 38 min |
| Jan 24, 6:52 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga, Lowndes | 53 min |
| Jan 24, 7:10 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Autauga | 35 min |
| Jan 24, 7:43 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Coosa | 47 min |
| Jan 24, 8:00 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 60 min |
| Jan 24, 8:02 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Macon | 58 min |
| Jan 24, 8:15 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 30 min |
| Jan 24, 8:18 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bullock | 57 min |
| Jan 24, 8:26 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pike | 64 min |
| Jan 24, 8:29 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lee | 61 min |
| Jan 24, 8:35 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Chambers | 55 min |
| Jan 24, 8:41 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Randolph | 49 min |
| Jan 24, 8:58 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Macon | 17 min |
| Jan 24, 9:01 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour | 59 min |
| Jan 24, 9:04 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Russell | 56 min |
| Jan 24, 1:39 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 51 min |
| Jan 24, 1:46 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin | 59 min |
| Jan 24, 2:01 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 44 min |
| Jan 24, 2:11 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 64 min |
| Jan 24, 2:32 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 43 min |
| Jan 24, 2:42 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 33 min |
| Jan 24, 2:59 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cullman | 61 min |
| Jan 24, 3:18 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 42 min |
| Jan 24, 3:27 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Morgan | 63 min |
| Jan 24, 3:30 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale | 60 min |
| Jan 24, 3:42 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 63 min |
| Jan 24, 3:47 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 58 min |
| Jan 24, 3:49 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 41 min |
| Jan 24, 3:54 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin | 66 min |
| Jan 24, 3:57 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount | 33 min |
| Jan 24, 4:03 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Cullman | 12 min |
| Jan 24, 4:05 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marshall | 55 min |
| Jan 24, 4:14 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 61 min |
| Jan 24, 4:18 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 42 min |
| Jan 24, 4:23 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 52 min |
| Jan 24, 4:27 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 48 min |
| Jan 24, 4:31 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 59 min |
| Jan 24, 4:38 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone, Morgan | 67 min |
| Jan 24, 4:42 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 48 min |
| Jan 24, 4:48 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison, Marshall | 72 min |
| Jan 24, 4:54 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Shelby | 51 min |
| Jan 24, 5:04 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | DeKalb, Marshall | 56 min |
| Jan 24, 5:11 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 49 min |
| Jan 24, 5:12 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Madison | 63 min |
| Jan 24, 5:16 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | St. Clair | 44 min |
| Jan 24, 5:26 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jackson | 64 min |
| Jan 24, 5:28 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 62 min |
| Jan 24, 5:32 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Morgan | 43 min |
| Jan 24, 5:34 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 41 min |
| Jan 24, 5:34 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Morgan | 41 min |
| Jan 24, 5:37 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Talladega | 38 min |
| Jan 24, 5:43 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Sumter | 32 min |
| Jan 24, 5:45 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 60 min |
| Jan 24, 5:45 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marshall | 60 min |
| Jan 24, 5:48 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 42 min |
| Jan 24, 5:52 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Calhoun | 53 min |
| Jan 24, 5:57 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 48 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.