Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Mobile, AL

January 15, 1997Covington County, Alabama

NWS Mobile, AL issued this tornado warning at Jan 15, 1997, 10:08 PM CST for Covington County, Alabama. It was in force for 67 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jan 15, 1997, 10:08 PM CST (04:08 UTC)
Expired
Jan 15, 1997, 11:15 PM CST
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Mobile, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Covington County, AL

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jan 15, 5:30 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 4.1 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 1997-01-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 1997-01-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 490 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
753 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
69 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
490 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
732 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMOB 160409 RRA
TORMOB
ALC039-160515-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOBILE AL
1008 PM CST WED JAN 15 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1115 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH ALABAMA
 
   ...COVINGTON COUNTY
 
AT 1009 PM CST...MOBILE DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE
TORNADO NEAR WING IN THE CONECUH NATIONAL FOREST WHICH WILL TRACK TO THE
EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND PASS NORTH OF FLORALA BY 1035 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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 15, 6:04 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBConecuh56 min
Jan 15, 6:14 PM CSTTornado WarningMOBChoctaw61 min
Jan 15, 6:18 PM CSTTornado WarningMOBButler, Conecuh57 min
Jan 15, 6:41 PM CSTTornado WarningMOBWashington64 min
Jan 15, 6:52 PM CSTTornado WarningMOBCrenshaw68 min
Jan 15, 7:08 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBClarke, Monroe67 min
Jan 15, 8:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBBaldwin57 min
Jan 15, 9:16 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBEscambia44 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.