Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 60
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 21, 1997, 9:15 AM CST for 36 counties in Alabama; 6 counties in Florida; Harris County, Muscogee County, Troup County, Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 21, 1997, 9:15 AM CST (15:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 21, 1997, 2:00 PM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 45 counties
Autauga County, AL, Baldwin County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Butler County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Escambia County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Harris County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Troup County, GA
The radar
The Mobile radar (KMOB), 133 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:18 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.
Warnings issued inside it
15 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 9:22 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga | 38 min |
| Feb 21, 9:24 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Mobile, Washington | 66 min |
| Feb 21, 9:35 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Clarke | 55 min |
| Feb 21, 9:38 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lowndes | 52 min |
| Feb 21, 9:57 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga | 33 min |
| Feb 21, 10:03 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Monroe | 42 min |
| Feb 21, 10:11 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Wilcox | 64 min |
| Feb 21, 10:12 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Coosa, Elmore | 48 min |
| Feb 21, 10:19 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 41 min |
| Feb 21, 10:36 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lowndes | 39 min |
| Feb 21, 10:45 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tallapoosa | 45 min |
| Feb 21, 10:50 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Mobile | 55 min |
| Feb 21, 10:57 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Montgomery | 48 min |
| Feb 21, 11:01 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Elmore | 29 min |
| Feb 21, 11:15 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers, Lee | 45 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), launched 12:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 111 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
- 173 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -20 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 521 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 287 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 338 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
629 WWUS9 KMKC 211450 COR SEL0 MKC WW 211450 COR ALZ000-FLZ000-212000- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 60 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 850 AM CST FRI FEB 21 1997 A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN OF ALABAMA PARTS OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON UNTIL 200 PM CST. TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 95 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF PENSACOLA FLORIDA TO 55 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF CENTREVILLE ALABAMA. 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. B..OTHER WATCH INFORMATION.. THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 55. WATCH NUMBER 55 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 915 AM CST. $$ 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 480. MEAN WIND VECTOR 23045. D...INTS PRE-FNTL SQLN CONTS MOVG EWD ACRS REGION. SEVERAL SMALL SCALE BOW ECHOES ARE EVIDENT. AMS IS ONLY MRGLY UNSTBL BUT FAVORABLE VERT WIND STRUCTURE WL MAINTAIN THREAT OF SVR TSTMS AND ISOLD TRONADOES THRU THIS AFTN. E...OTR TSTMS... THIS WATCH REPLACES..WW 55.. CONT..WW 57..WW 58..WW 59.. ...VESCIO
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, 4:45 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Jefferson, Lamar and 11 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, 12:00 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Carroll, Chattahoochee and 41 more | 6 hr |
| Feb 21, 2:00 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts and 56 more | 5 hr |
| Feb 21, 4:00 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Richmond | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 1997Tornado Watches in Florida, 1997Tornado Watches in Georgia, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.