Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 56, NWS Birmingham, AL

March 25, 1997Fayette County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Mar 25, 1997, 6:54 PM CST for Fayette County, Alabama. It was in force for 31 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
Mar 25, 1997, 6:54 PM CST (00:54 UTC)
Expired
Mar 25, 1997, 7:25 PM CST
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Fayette County, AL

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 107 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 1997-03-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 495 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 1997-03-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
495 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1273 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
107 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 260053 RRA
TORBHM
ALC057-260125-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
654 PM CST TUE MAR 25 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 725 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...FAYETTE
 
AT 651 PM CST...A DEVELOPING TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY WEATHER RADAR
7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GLEN ALLEN MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE...
GLEN ALLEN                  AROUND 705 PM CST
BAZEMORE                    AROUND 709 PM CST

THIS REPLACES THE PREVIOUS WARNING FOR FAYETTE COUNTY.

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 SAFETY 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
Mar 25, 6:20 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert25 min
Mar 25, 6:42 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette, Lamar48 min
Mar 25, 7:33 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson62 min
Mar 25, 7:49 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXJefferson46 min
Mar 25, 8:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair62 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.