Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 67, NWS Birmingham, AL

April 28, 1997Marshall County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 1997, 6:31 PM CDT for Marshall County, Alabama. It was in force for 59 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 28, 1997, 6:31 PM CDT (23:31 UTC)
Expired
Apr 28, 1997, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Marshall County, AL

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 28, 3:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 139 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 1997-04-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 263 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1997-04-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 134 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
263 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-100 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
504 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
77 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
134 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
152 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KHSV 282331 RRA
TORHSV
ALC095-290030-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL
631 PM CDT MON APR 28 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HUNTSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTH ALABAMA
 
   ...MARSHALL COUNTY
 
AT 630 PM CDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN HUNTSVILLE INDICATED A POSSIBLE
TORNADO NEAR ALBERTVILLE IN MARSHALL COUNTY.
 
MOVEMENT WAS EAST NORTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.
 
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 SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 28, 1:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair30 min
Apr 28, 1:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega34 min
Apr 28, 2:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun60 min
Apr 28, 2:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah, St. Clair63 min
Apr 28, 3:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCherokee62 min
Apr 28, 4:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount49 min
Apr 28, 4:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah64 min
Apr 28, 4:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall56 min
Apr 28, 4:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman, Winston64 min
Apr 28, 5:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb58 min
Apr 28, 5:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLimestone, Madison62 min
Apr 28, 5:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair49 min
Apr 28, 5:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount65 min
Apr 28, 5:51 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb69 min
Apr 28, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair32 min
Apr 28, 6:15 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXEtowah2 hr
Apr 28, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall60 min
Apr 28, 6:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah48 min
Apr 28, 6:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun66 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.