Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 220, NWS Mobile, AL
NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 19, 1997, 5:04 PM CDT for Covington County, Alabama. It was in force for 31 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 19, 1997, 5:04 PM CDT (22:04 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 19, 1997, 5:35 PM CDT
- In force
- 31 min
- Issued by
- NWS Mobile, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Covington County, AL
The radar
The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:06 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 5:15 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Libertyville, AL | Several trees were blown down near Libertyville and also near Wing. Two funnel clouds were observed in the area but they never touched the ground. |
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, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 86 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1683 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -57 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 872 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 5 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -21 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -4 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMOB 192206 SVRMOB ALC039-192235- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 504 PM CDT TUE AUG 19 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE AL HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 535 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHERN ALABAMA ...COVINGTON AT 501 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY WEATHER RADAR 9 MILES WEST OF ANDALUSIA MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN TO PASS NEAR ANDALUSIA. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE... SEEK REFUGE FROM THE STORM IN A STRONG BUILDING. BOATERS ON AREA LAKES SHOULD TAKE SHELTER. DAMAGING WIND... LARGE HAIL... VERY HEAVY RAIN... A*ND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE ALL LIKELY. DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER TREES OR OTHER ISOLATED TALL OBJECTS. THESE ATTRACT LIGHTNING. DO NOT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
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 Aug 19, 2:40 PM CDT, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 19, 2:40 PM CDT, 2 hours 24 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 235 PM CDT TUES AUG 19 1997 CURRENT SFC MAP AND SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS OUTFLOW BOUNDARY OVER NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO. SCATTERED SHRAS/TSRAS DEVELOPING OVER NWRN PORTION OF CWA ATTM SOUTH OF FRONTAL BOUNDARY OVER EXTREME NORTHERN ALABAMA. MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN DIGGING UPPER TROF OVER THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE COUNTRY THRU END OF FCST PERIOD WHILE UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OUT WEST. WITH DEEP UPPER TROF DEVELOPING...STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY TO OUR NORTH IS PROGGED TO BEGIN MOVG SOUTH BY PERIODS END AS SFC LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPS ALONG EASTERN SEABOARD. STRONGER UPPER DYNAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH UPPER TROF PROGGED TO ROTATE AROUND BASE OF TROF NORTH OF FCST AREA ON FRI. MODELS SUGGEST THAT BY WEEKEND (EXTENDED PERIOD) THE FRONT WILL BE SOUTH OF FCST AREA USHERING IN LESS HUMID CONDITIONS. THRU THIS PERIOD (12Z THU)...NO MAJOR CHANGES IN FCST EXPECTED. CHANCE POPS (30 PERCENT) MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENINGS...MIN TEMPS IN THE LOW/MID 70S AND MAX TEMPS IN THE LOW/MID 90S TO CONTINUE. WITH WESTERLY LOLVL FLOW THRU PERIOD...DONT EXPECT SEA BREEZE TO MOVE VERY FAR INLAND. OVER THE MARINE AREA...WINDS WEST AND SOUTHWEST TONIGHT AROUND 10 KNOTS WITH SEAS AROUND 2 FEET. ON WEDNESDAY...WEST WIND 10 TO 15 KNOTS...SEAS BUILDING TO AROUND 3 FEET. CONTINUED LIGHT CHOP ON BAYS AND INLAND WATERS. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AT ANY TIME. MOB 75/94/72/92 2323 PNS 76/94/75/94 2323 DTS 77/93/75/93 2323 EVR 72/92/71/90 2323
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.