Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 56
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 21, 1997, 4:45 AM CST for 17 counties in Alabama; 12 counties in Mississippi; 14 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 21, 1997, 4:45 AM CST (10:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 21, 1997, 11:00 AM CST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 43 counties
Colbert County, AL, Cullman County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL, Marion County, AL, Morgan County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Shelby County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL, Alcorn County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Clay County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lee County, MS, Lowndes County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tishomingo County, MS, Union County, MS, Chester County, TN, Decatur County, TN, Giles County, TN, Hardin County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Lawrence County, TN, Lewis County, TN, Lincoln County, TN, Madison County, TN, Marshall County, TN, Maury County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Perry County, TN, Wayne County, TN
Warnings issued inside it
21 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 4:52 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Oktibbeha | 38 min |
| Feb 21, 5:08 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lamar, Pickens | 52 min |
| Feb 21, 5:10 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lowndes | 40 min |
| Feb 21, 5:51 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion | 69 min |
| Feb 21, 5:57 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens | 48 min |
| Feb 21, 6:00 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar | 60 min |
| Feb 21, 6:05 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 55 min |
| Feb 21, 6:07 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Lawrence, Wayne | 53 min |
| Feb 21, 6:11 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin | 64 min |
| Feb 21, 6:15 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 60 min |
| Feb 21, 6:18 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Franklin | 57 min |
| Feb 21, 6:28 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Walker | 62 min |
| Feb 21, 6:32 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence | 58 min |
| Feb 21, 6:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lawrence | 45 min |
| Feb 21, 6:56 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Cullman | 64 min |
| Feb 21, 6:57 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Maury | 48 min |
| Feb 21, 7:10 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Limestone | 50 min |
| Feb 21, 7:21 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Madison | 54 min |
| Feb 21, 7:24 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Morgan | 51 min |
| Feb 21, 8:21 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 54 min |
| Feb 21, 9:29 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Shelby | 46 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 164 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
- 133 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -10 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 825 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 136 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 228 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
003 WWUS9 KMKC 211010 SEL6 MKC WW 211010 MSZ000-ALZ000-TNZ000-211700- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 56 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 410 AM CST FRI FEB 21 1997 A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PARTS OF EASTERN MISSISSIPPI PARTS OF WESTERN AND NORTHERN ALABAMA PARTS OF WESTERN AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY MORNING UNTIL 1100 AM CST. TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF TUSCALOOSA ALABAMA TO 70 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF JACKSON TENNESSEE. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. $$ C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO 1 INCHES. EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CBS WITH MAX TOPS TO 400. MEAN WIND VECTOR 20045. D...POTENTIAL FOR ISOLD TORNADOES LKLY TO CONT INVOF LEWP CRESTS ALG SQLN. AREA VWPS INDICATE CONTG PRESENCE OF STG LOLVL SHEAR... WITH SFC DWPTS AOA 60 SUF FOR CONTD UPDRAFT DVLPMT. E...OTR TSTMS... CONT..WW 53..WW 54..WW 55 ...CORFIDI
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 4:45 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bibb, Choctaw, Clarke, Greene, Hale, Marengo and 3 more | 6 hr |
| Feb 21, 7:00 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Cullman and 16 more | 5 hr |
| Feb 21, 9:15 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler and 30 more | 5 hr |
| Feb 20, 11:00 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Choctaw, Coahoma and 16 more | 6 hr |
| Feb 20, 11:45 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adams, Amite, Attala, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin and 17 more | 5 hr |
| Feb 21, 10:15 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger and 13 more | 4 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 1997Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 1997Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 1997Every tornado watch 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.