Alert archive / Massachusetts / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 75, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

August 16, 1997Franklin County, Massachusetts

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 16, 1997, 7:50 PM EDT for Franklin County, Massachusetts. It was in force for 40 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
Aug 16, 1997, 7:50 PM EDT (23:50 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 1997, 8:30 PM EDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area
Whole counties

County Franklin County, MA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 16, 8:00 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 75Northfield, MA

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

Albany, NY (KALY), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 102 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, Albany, NY at 12:00Z on 1997-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1366 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, Albany, NY at 12:00Z on 1997-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 25 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
1366 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
537 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
9 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KBOS 162349 RRA
SVRBOS
MAC011-170030-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
750 PM EDT SAT AUG 16 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  830 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST MASSACHUSETTS
 
   ...FRANKLIN COUNTY
 
AT 745 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM JUST EAST OF GREENFIELD. THE STORM IS MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH
AND WILL AFFECT THE TOWNS OF GIL...NORTHFIELD AND ERVING IN THE NEXT 45
MINUTES.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Massachusetts, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.