Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Tallahassee, FL
NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Oct 24, 1997, 11:00 AM CDT for Dale County, Houston County, Alabama. It was in force for 50 min. 3 reports 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 24, 1997, 11:00 AM CDT (16:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 24, 1997, 11:50 AM CDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tallahassee, FL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Dale County, AL, Houston County, AL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 11:00 AM CDT | Tornado F1 | Clayhatchee, AL | A small F1 tornado destroyed a barn on Alabama Highway 92. A neighboring house sustained minor damage. Several trees were uprooted. |
| Oct 24, 11:30 AM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 | Midland City, AL | Severe thunderstorm winds caused minor roof damage to several homes. |
| Oct 24, 11:30 AM CDT | Tornado F1 | Echo, AL | F1 tornado struck a chicken farm at Alabama Highway 27 and Dale County Road 67. Six of eight chicken houses were destroyed. Approximately 25,000 chickens were killed. |
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 nearest sounding before it
Eglin AFB/Valpar, FL (KVPS), launched 12:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 134 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
- 1564 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 658 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 63 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 299 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 550 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 5.0
- Supercell composite
- 18.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KTLH 241557 RRA TORTLH ALC045-069-241650- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 1200 PM EDT FRI OCT 24 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE FL HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1150 AM CDT (1250 PM EDT) FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTHEASTERN ALABAMA ...DALE COUNTY ...WESTERN HOUSTON COUNTY AT 1059 AM CDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY TALLAHASSEE DOPPLER RADAR AND SPOTTER REPORTS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE... NEWTON BY 1105 AM CDT MIDLAND CITY BY 1112 AM CDT ECHO BY 1128 AM CDT IF YOU ARE CAdUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SAFETY IN A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT... SEEK REFUGE IN A CULVERT... DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS. BEWARE THE THREAT OF RISING WATER.
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.