Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 22, NWS Tallahassee, FL

October 26, 1997Houston County, Alabama

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Oct 26, 1997, 9:52 AM CST for Houston County, Alabama. It was in force for 53 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 26, 1997, 9:52 AM CST (15:52 UTC)
Expired: Oct 26, 1997, 10:45 AM CST
In force: 53 min
Issued by: NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area: Whole counties

County Houston County, AL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Oct 26, 10:00 AM CST	Tornado F1	Gordon, AL	F1 tornado moved across Houston County Road 85. Two homes sustained extensive roof damage. A semitractor trailer was overturned. Numerous trees and power lines down in Ashford and Gordon.

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 26, 6:45 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 3.9 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.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1593 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 494 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 154 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 246 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.6
Supercell composite: 8.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTLH 261551 RRA
TORTLH
ALC069-261645-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
1052 AM EST (952 AM CST) SUN OCT 26 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1145 AM EST (1045 AM CST)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST ALABAMA
 
   ...HOUSTON COUNTY
 
WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 8 MILES SOUTH
OF DOTHAN MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. IN ADDITION THE PUBLIC HAS
REPORTED SEEING FUNNEL CLOUDS WITH THIS STORM.
 
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
PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. A MOBILE HOME IS NOT A
SAFE REFUGE FROM A TORNADO. MOVE TO A MORE SUBSTANTIAL BUILDING.
 
IF THREATENING WEATHER IS APROACHING YOU...TAKE SHELTER.  IF YOU
HAVE SEVERE WEATHER TO REPORT... ASK YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY TO RELAY THE REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
IN TALLAHASSEE.
 
 
 
&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 25, 7:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TAE	Dale	30 min
Oct 25, 7:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TAE	Henry, Houston	48 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Alabama, 1997 Every tornado warning in 1997 Tornadoes 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.