Alert archive / Alabama / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 42, NWS Mobile, AL

January 24, 1997Mobile County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 24, 1997, 6:38 PM CST for Mobile County, Alabama. It was in force for 67 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
Jan 24, 1997, 6:38 PM CST (00:38 UTC)
Expired
Jan 24, 1997, 7:45 PM CST
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Mobile County, AL

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 4 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:40 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 24, 7:00 PM CSTHail 0.75Bellefontaine, AL

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jan 24, 4:45 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Slidell Radar S, LA (KSIL), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 152 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 1997-01-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2070 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, Slidell Radar S, LA at 00:00Z on 1997-01-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 98 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
2070 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
751 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
98 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
150 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
7.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 250039 RRA
SVRMOB
ALC097-250145-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
638 PM CST FRI JAN 24 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ALABAMA
 
   ...MOBILE COUNTY
 
 
 
 
AT 635 PM...NWS DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE STORMS
THAT CONTINUE TO CLIP THE EXTREME SOUTH PORTION OF MOBILE COUNTY. ONE
STRONG CELL WAS EXITING THE MOUTH OF THE FOWL RIVER...AND ANOTHER STORM
WILL ENTER THE SOUTHEAST PART OF THE COUNTY BETWEEN GRAND BAY AND BAYOU
LA BATRE. LARGE HAIL IS THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMXS.
 
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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 24, 6:27 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBBaldwin63 min
Jan 24, 7:26 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBBaldwin64 min
Jan 24, 7:42 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBMobile63 min
Jan 24, 7:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBCovington31 min
Jan 24, 8:28 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBBaldwin62 min
Jan 24, 8:35 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBMobile55 min
Jan 24, 9:29 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBBaldwin, Mobile61 min
Jan 24, 10:38 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBBaldwin67 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.