Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 59, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 22, 1997Shelby County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 22, 1997, 2:55 PM CDT for Shelby County, Alabama. It was in force for 35 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
Apr 22, 1997, 2:55 PM CDT (19:55 UTC)
Expired
Apr 22, 1997, 3:30 PM CDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Shelby County, AL

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 22, 1:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 14 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 12:00Z on 1997-04-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1576 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 12:00Z on 1997-04-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 117 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1576 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-52 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
667 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
117 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
216 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
6.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 221956 RRA
TORBHM
ALC117-222030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
255 PM CDT TUE APR 22 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 330 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN CENTRAL ALABAMA

   ...SHELBY
 
AT 254 PM CDT...A TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY WEATHER RADAR IN THE
VICINITY OF BOOTHTON MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE...
MAYLENE                     AROUND 303 PM CDT
ALABASTER                   AROUND 308 PM CDT
HELENA                      AROUND 309 PM CDT
PELHAM                      AROUND 310 PM CDT

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
Apr 21, 7:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston56 min
Apr 21, 7:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson55 min
Apr 21, 7:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone55 min
Apr 21, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison43 min
Apr 21, 10:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun67 min
Apr 21, 11:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCleburne43 min
Apr 22, 1:03 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby57 min
Apr 22, 1:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega48 min
Apr 22, 1:33 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay57 min
Apr 22, 1:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFranklin66 min
Apr 22, 2:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene, Hale, Marengo, Sumter48 min
Apr 22, 2:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXColbert62 min
Apr 22, 2:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount, Jefferson, Walker50 min
Apr 22, 2:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa50 min
Apr 22, 2:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby48 min
Apr 22, 2:45 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBibb35 min
Apr 22, 2:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Dallas, Lowndes49 min
Apr 22, 3:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton47 min
Apr 22, 3:14 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDallas46 min
Apr 22, 3:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa, Talladega47 min
Apr 22, 3:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Montgomery45 min
Apr 22, 3:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa49 min
Apr 22, 3:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Lowndes50 min
Apr 22, 3:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay46 min
Apr 22, 3:52 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLowndes48 min
Apr 22, 4:00 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb30 min
Apr 22, 4:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Montgomery48 min
Apr 22, 4:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers, Randolph50 min
Apr 22, 4:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa50 min
Apr 22, 4:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBullock, Macon48 min
Apr 22, 4:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLee49 min
Apr 22, 4:27 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXChambers48 min
Apr 22, 4:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarengo49 min
Apr 22, 5:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSumter48 min
Apr 22, 5:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell46 min
Apr 22, 6:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDallas49 min
Apr 22, 6:17 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDallas43 min
Apr 22, 6:26 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLowndes49 min
Apr 22, 6:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Elmore, Montgomery52 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.