Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 130, NWS Mobile, AL

April 22, 1997Butler County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 22, 1997, 8:05 PM CDT for Butler County, Alabama. It was in force for 55 min. 2 reports 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 22, 1997, 8:05 PM CDT (01:05 UTC)
Expired: Apr 22, 1997, 9:00 PM CDT
In force: 55 min
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Whole counties

County Butler County, AL

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:05 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 22, 8:10 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Georgiana, AL	Dime size hail was reported near Georgiana.
Apr 22, 8:10 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Georgiana, AL	Several trees were blown down along U. S. Highway 31 between McKenzie and Georgiana. Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 22, 2:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 159 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 105 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -265 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 799 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 239 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 235 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.

223 
WUUS1 KMOB 230114
SVRMOB
ALC013-230200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
805 PM CDT TUE APR 22 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTH ALABAMA

   ...BUTLER COUNTY

AT 805 PM CDT MOBILE DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTHWESTERN BUTLER COUNTY JUST TO THE WEST OF
GEORGIANA. THE STORM IS MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH AND WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS
BUTLER COUNTY THROUGH 9 PM AND WILL AFFECT THE TOWN OF GREENVILLE. LARGE
HAIL IS THE PRIMARY THREAT.
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

...CORRECTED MOVEMENT OF STORM IN BODY OF WARNING FROM WEST
   TO EAST...DB

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Mobile, AL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 22, 3:34 PM CDT, 4 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 22, 3:34 PM CDT, 4 hours 31 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...COR TO 2ND PERIOD DTS POPS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
333 PM CDT TUE APR 22 1997

SERIES OF MID LEVEL S/WAVES SEEN IN WV LOOP WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE
ACROSS CWA THROUGH TONIGHT...EXITING BY EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.  18Z
SURFACE ANALYSIS DEPICTS SURFACE LOW IN NORTHWEST AL ASSOCIATED WITH
LEADING S/WAVE AND ASSOCIATED PREFRONTAL TROF.  KJAN LOOP SHOWS
COMPLEX PATTERN OF SEVERAL LINES OF TSRA/+TSRA ASSOCIATED WITH
SURFACE REFLECTIONS OF MID LEVEL S/WAVES AND INTERACTIONS WITH
OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES.  MODIFIED 18Z MOBILE SOUNDING SHOWED CAPES NEAR
3500 WITH LI VALUES NEAR -10 WITH PLENTY OF DRY AIR STILL IN PLACE
ABOVE H7 AND WET BULB ZERO VALUES NEAR 9100.  MODIFIED MOBILE
SOUNDING ALSO SHOWED A 2-3C DEGREE CAP FROM H85-75...DECREASING TO NO
CAP AT JAN.  RADAR TRENDS INDICATE THAT CAP IS WEAKENING
PROGRESSIVELY FURTHER SOUTH...WITH TSRA NOW FORMING IN EXTREME
SOUTHEAST MS...AND SO WILL EXPECT FURTHER SOUTHWARD DEVELOPMENT
THROUGH THIS EVENING AFFECTING NORTHWEST FLORIDA AND COASTAL ALABAMA.
AXIS OF MOST UNSTABLE AIR SHIFTS EASTWARD THIS EVENING AND REMAINS
MOSTLY OVER THE COASTAL SECTIONS WITH CAPES LATER DROPPING QUICKLY TO
BELOW 1500 OVER NORTHWEST FLORIDA BY 1 AM TONIGHT.  MAIN SURFACE LOW
LOCATED IN WEST CENTRAL MS PER 18Z ANALYSIS ADVANCES NORTHEAST TO
NORTHWEST GA BY 1 AM WITH ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT ENTERING SOUTHWEST AL
BY MIDNIGHT AND LATER EXITING CWA DURING WEDNESDAY MORNING.  SURFACE
HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES INTO THE REGION THROUGH THURSDAY WITH CLEARING
WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUED CLEAR CONDITIONS THROUGH THURSDAY.

SOUTHWEST WINDS AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS OVER THE MARINE AREA WILL BEGIN TO
SWITCH TO THE NORTHWEST NEAR 20 KNOTS LATE TONIGHT OVER THE ALABAMA
COASTAL WATERS AS A COLD FRONT WINDS OVER THE MARINE AREA...AND
SWITCH TO THE NORTHWEST OVER THE FLORIDA COASTAL WATERS WEDNESDAY
MORNING.  SCA WILL BE REQUIRED TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY FOR WIND SHIFT
AND SCATTERED TSRA.

MOB 58/74/50/78 6100    PNS 61/74/53/78 6100
DTS 64/73/51/74 6300    EVR 57/69/46/76 9100 29

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 22, 3:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
330 PM CDT TUE APR 22 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0318 PM    THOMASVILLE               AL   .75 INCH HAIL
04/22/97   CLARKE                         PD REPORTED DIME SIZE HAIL
                                          FELL FROM 305 TO 318 PM.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 22, 7:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	68 min
Apr 22, 8:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington, Crenshaw	57 min
Apr 22, 8:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	57 min
Apr 22, 8:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Washington	57 min
Apr 22, 9:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin, Clarke	59 min
Apr 22, 9:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Escambia	68 min
Apr 22, 9:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Conecuh, Monroe	61 min
Apr 22, 9:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	67 min
Apr 22, 10:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	66 min
Apr 22, 10:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	58 min
Apr 22, 10:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Crenshaw	61 min
Apr 22, 11:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Baldwin	60 min
Apr 22, 11:59 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MOB	Baldwin	46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Alabama, 1997 Every 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.