Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 104, NWS Mobile, AL

April 21, 1997Baldwin County, Monroe County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 21, 1997, 4:25 PM CDT for Baldwin County, Monroe County, Alabama. It was in force for 65 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
Apr 21, 1997, 4:25 PM CDT (21:25 UTC)
Expired
Apr 21, 1997, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Baldwin County, AL, Monroe County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:28 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 21, 5:29 PM CDTHail 1Uriah, ALQuarter size hail was reported in the southwest part of the county, near Uriah.

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

Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), launched 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 123 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, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-04-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 320 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, Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL at 12:00Z on 1997-04-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 65 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
320 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-62 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1019 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
65 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
66 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 212124 RRA
SVRMOB
ALC003-099-212230-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
425 PM CDT MON APR 21 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA
 
   ...BALDWIN COUNTY...MONROE COUNTY
 
AT 424 PM CDT...MOBILE DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR SHOWED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
WITH LARGE DAMAGING HAIL OVER SOUTHERN CLARKE COUNTY. THESE STORMS WILL
DEVELOP TO THE SOUTH AND EAST...AFFECTING NORTHERN BALDWIN COUNTY AND
SOUTHERN MONROE COUNTY THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON.
 
TOWNS AFFECTED WILL BE LITTLE RIVER AT 445 PM AND URIAH AT 515 PM.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD
PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND
DEADLY LIGHTNING.  PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 21, 4:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBClarke, Washington44 min
Apr 21, 4:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBMobile49 min
Apr 21, 4:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBWashington58 min
Apr 21, 5:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBMobile67 min
Apr 21, 5:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBClarke67 min
Apr 21, 5:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBBaldwin65 min
Apr 21, 5:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBConecuh, Monroe55 min
Apr 21, 5:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBWilcox63 min
Apr 21, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBMobile45 min
Apr 21, 6:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBBaldwin62 min
Apr 21, 6:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBConecuh57 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.