Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 42, NWS Birmingham, AL
NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 2, 1997, 11:38 PM CST for Colbert County, Franklin County, Lauderdale County, Alabama. It was in force for 67 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
- Mar 2, 1997, 11:38 PM CST (05:38 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 3, 1997, 12:45 AM CST
- In force
- 67 min
- Issued by
- NWS Birmingham, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Colbert County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 3, 12:17 AM CST | Hail 0.75 | Hodges, AL | |
| Mar 3, 12:39 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 57 | Russellville, 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, 5.6 hours before the alert went out and 190 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
- 18 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -90 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 588 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 70 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 323 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 420 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KHSV 030537 RRA TORHSV ALC033-059-077-030645- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL 1138 PM CST SUN MAR 2 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 AM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONSS... IN NORTH ALABAMA ...COLBERT COUNTY...FRANKLIN COUNTY...LAUDERDALE COUNTY AT 1135 PM CST WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN HUNTSVILLE INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTAINING POSSIBLE TORNADOS OVER NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI MOVING INTO NORTHWEST ALABAMA. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 70 MILES AN HOUR. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Birmingham, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 7:29 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence | 3 hr |
| Mar 2, 7:29 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Lauderdale, Limestone | 3 hr |
| Mar 2, 11:15 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale | 45 min |
| Mar 2, 11:35 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 40 min |
| Mar 2, 11:55 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar | 50 min |
| Mar 3, 12:05 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 55 min |
| Mar 3, 12:29 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 61 min |
| Mar 3, 12:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence | 60 min |
| Mar 3, 12:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Franklin | 60 min |
| Mar 3, 12:46 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 59 min |
| Mar 3, 12:57 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marion | 18 min |
| Mar 3, 1:02 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 58 min |
| Mar 3, 1:21 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 69 min |
| Mar 3, 1:41 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lawrence, Morgan | 64 min |
| Mar 3, 2:03 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Limestone | 57 min |
| Mar 3, 2:11 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Madison, Morgan | 64 min |
| Mar 3, 2:41 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Marshall | 64 min |
| Mar 3, 2:46 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount | 44 min |
| Mar 3, 2:59 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Etowah | 46 min |
| Mar 3, 3:50 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Coosa, Elmore | 40 min |
| Mar 3, 4:10 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Coosa, Tallapoosa | 65 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.