Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 56, NWS Mobile, AL
NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Nov 21, 1997, 10:13 PM CST for Covington County, Alabama. It was in force for 47 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
- Nov 21, 1997, 10:13 PM CST (04:13 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 21, 1997, 11:00 PM CST
- In force
- 47 min
- Issued by
- NWS Mobile, AL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Covington County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 10:45 PM CST | Tornado F1 | Opp, AL | A tornado briefly touched down one mile south of Opp near the community of Beulah. Three homes were hit by the tornado. One home was completely destroyed and two others suffered major damage. Five family members in the destroyed home said they huddled in t |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 8:00 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 217 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
- 139 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -103 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 585 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 78 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 152 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 205 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMOB 220412 RRA TORMOB ALC039-220500- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL 1013 PM CST FRI NOV 21 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTH ALABAMA ...COVINGTON COUNTY AT 1010 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A TORNADO OVER COVINGTON COUNTY MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THIS TORNADO WILL MOVE JUST SOUTH OF ANDALUSIA THROUGH 11 PM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS... OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Mobile, AL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 7:08 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Mobile | 52 min |
| Nov 21, 7:23 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Escambia | 67 min |
| Nov 21, 9:14 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Baldwin | 61 min |
| Nov 21, 9:27 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Covington, Escambia | 48 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.