Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 98, NWS Birmingham, AL

May 3, 1997Cherokee County, Alabama

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at May 3, 1997, 12:22 AM CDT for Cherokee County, Alabama. It was in force for 48 min. 1 report 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
May 3, 1997, 12:22 AM CDT (05:22 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 1997, 1:10 AM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Cherokee County, AL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 3, 12:40 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50Centre, ALA few trees were down in the Sand Rock area, in the northwest part of the county.

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 2, 8:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 136 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 1997-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 888 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 1997-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 120 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
888 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1099 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
120 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
242 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
5.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBHM 030522 RRA
TORBHM
ALC019-030610-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1222 AM CDT SAT MAY 3 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 110 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHERN ALABAMA

   ...CHEROKEE
 
AT 1222 AM CDT...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND
POSSIBLE TORNADO 3 MILES WEST OF LEESBURG MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE...
SAND ROCK                   AROUND 1225 AM CDT
CENTRE                      AROUND 1229 AM CDT
CEDAR BLUFF                 AROUND 1236 AM CDT
GAYLESVILLE                 AROUND 1239 AM CDT

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SAFETY IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK REFUGE 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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 7:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman50 min
May 2, 7:13 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCullman47 min
May 2, 7:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMadison, Morgan55 min
May 2, 7:29 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarshall61 min
May 2, 7:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJackson63 min
May 2, 8:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb57 min
May 2, 8:11 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXDeKalb49 min
May 2, 8:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMarshall60 min
May 2, 8:42 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCherokee33 min
May 2, 8:54 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLamar61 min
May 2, 9:22 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFayette78 min
May 2, 9:37 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarion48 min
May 2, 9:56 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXWalker64 min
May 2, 10:20 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXLamar65 min
May 2, 10:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWinston32 min
May 2, 10:28 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXCullman62 min
May 2, 10:41 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXDeKalb, Jackson, Marshall4 hr
May 2, 10:47 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXFayette63 min
May 2, 11:06 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXBlount49 min
May 2, 11:10 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXWalker50 min
May 2, 11:12 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCullman, Marion, Walker, Winston3 hr
May 2, 11:12 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXFayette, Lamar3 hr
May 2, 11:32 PM CDTTornado WarningBMXMarshall43 min
May 2, 11:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLamar49 min
May 2, 11:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman49 min
May 2, 11:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXEtowah64 min
May 3, 12:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXDeKalb, Jackson59 min
May 3, 12:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXWalker34 min
May 3, 12:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXFayette65 min
May 3, 12:15 AM CDTTornado WarningBMXEtowah45 min
May 3, 12:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount66 min
May 3, 1:42 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCullman33 min
May 3, 1:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBlount50 min
May 3, 1:57 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXFayette, Lamar, Marion, Walker4 hr
May 3, 1:57 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXCullman, Winston4 hr
May 3, 1:57 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXBlount4 hr
May 3, 2:32 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningBMXDeKalb, Jackson, Marshall3 hr
May 3, 3:27 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTuscaloosa48 min
May 3, 3:54 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXGreene36 min
May 3, 3:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXHale31 min
May 3, 5:06 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega49 min
May 3, 5:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXAutauga, Chilton63 min
May 3, 6:11 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa49 min
May 3, 6:33 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Montgomery47 min
May 3, 6:33 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTallapoosa47 min
May 3, 7:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLee35 min
May 3, 7:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell47 min
May 3, 8:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXMacon31 min
May 3, 8:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXLee30 min
May 3, 8:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell46 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.