Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 255, NWS Mobile, AL

November 1, 1997Choctaw County, Clarke County, Washington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Nov 1, 1997, 12:40 PM CST for Choctaw County, Clarke County, Washington County, Alabama. It was in force for 2 hr. 4 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: Nov 1, 1997, 12:40 PM CST (18:40 UTC)
Expired: Nov 1, 1997, 2:45 PM CST
In force: 2 hr
Issued by: NWS Mobile, AL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Washington County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:40 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
Nov 1, 1:30 PM CST	Hail 0.75	Escatawpa, AL	Dime size hail was reported near the community of Escatawpa in the southwest part of Washington county.
Nov 1, 2:10 PM CST	Hail 1.75	Gilbertown, AL	Golf ball size hail was reported near the community of Gilbertown.
Nov 1, 2:15 PM CST	Hail 1.75	Butler, AL	Golfball size hail was reported near Butler.
Nov 1, 2:54 PM CST	Hail 0.75	Chatom, AL	Dime size hail was reported in Chatom.

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

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 199 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: 1991 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 477 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 130 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 149 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.4
Supercell composite: 6.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 011841 RRA
SVRMOB
ALC023-025-129-MSC153-012045-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1240 PM CST SAT NOV 1 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  245 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA
 
   ...CHOCTAW COUNTY...CLARKE COUNTY...WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
 
IN SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
 
   ...WAYNE COUNTY
 
AT 1235 PM CST...NWS DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING EAST OF I-59 IN EAST MISSISSIPPI. THESE STORMS WILL
AFFECT THE WESTERN PORTION OF BOTH CHOCTAW CO AL AND WAYNE CO MS BY 1245
PM CDT. IN ADDITION...SEVERE STORMS WERE DEVELOPING AHEAD OF THE LINE
OVER NORTH WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST CLARKE COUNTIES OF SOUTHWEST
ALABAMA. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS IS LARGE HAIL...ISOLATED
TORNADOES...AND LATER DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS GREATER THAN 60 KNOTS
AS THE MAIN LINE OF STORMS APPROACHES FROM THE WEST.
 
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.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 1, 1:16 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Covington	59 min
Nov 1, 2:10 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Choctaw	65 min
Nov 1, 2:21 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Butler	54 min
Nov 1, 2:42 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Clarke, Washington	2 hr
Nov 1, 2:42 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Wilcox	2 hr
Nov 1, 2:56 PM CST	Tornado Warning	MOB	Washington	64 min
Nov 1, 3:14 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Monroe	61 min
Nov 1, 3:33 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Crenshaw	27 min
Nov 1, 3:47 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Mobile	58 min
Nov 1, 3:47 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Conecuh	58 min
Nov 1, 3:57 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MOB	Escambia	63 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.