Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 11, NWS Tallahassee, FL
NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Oct 25, 1997, 6:44 PM CDT for Houston County, Alabama. It was in force for 46 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
- Oct 25, 1997, 6:44 PM CDT (23:44 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 25, 1997, 7:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tallahassee, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Houston County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 6:50 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Wicksburg, AL | F1 tornado damaged approximately 12 homes. Numerous trees and power lines down. A van was overturned by high winds. Both occupants suffered minor injuries. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 1:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
| Oct 25, 4:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 127 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
- 1051 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -22 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 513 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 222 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 230 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 6.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KTLH 252343 RRA TORTLH ALC069-260030- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 744 PM EDT (644 PM CDT) SAT OCT 25 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM EDT (730 PM CDT) FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTHEAST ALABAMA ...NORTHWESTERN HOUSTON COUNTY AT 640 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER SOUTHERN DALE COUNTY...WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER EXTREME SOUTHERN DALE COUNTY SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 84. THIS STORM IS MOVING TO THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH AND WILL MOVE INTO THE NORTHWESTERN CORNER OF HOUSTON COUNTY BY 650 PM CDT. RESIDENTS ALONG HIGHWAY 84 OVER THE NORTHWESTERN CORNER OF THE COUNTY TO THE WEST OF DOTHAN SHOULD TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY! IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS UNDER STURDY FURNITURE IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE PI\LLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. A MOBILE HOME IS NOT A SAFE REFUGE FROM A TORNADO. MOVE TO A MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25, 6:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Coffee, Dale | 45 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.