Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Atlanta, GA

April 15, 1987Dawson County, Hall County, Lumpkin County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 15, 1987, 3:16 AM EDT for Dawson County, Hall County, Lumpkin County, Georgia. It was in force for 59 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
Apr 15, 1987, 3:16 AM EDT (07:16 UTC)
Expired
Apr 15, 1987, 4:15 AM EDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Dawson County, GA, Hall County, GA, Lumpkin County, GA

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 15, 3:45 AM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Dawson, GA

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. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 00:00Z, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 85 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Athens Municipal, GA at 00:00Z on 1987-04-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 569 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Athens Municipal, GA at 00:00Z on 1987-04-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 254 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
569 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
646 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
254 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
369 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
2.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KAHN 150716 RRA
SVRAHN
GAC139-187-085-150815-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA
316 AM EDT WED APR 15 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  415 AM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA
          ...HALL...LUMPKIN
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
          ...DAWSON
 
AT 315 AM EDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ENTERING DAWSON
COUNTY FROM THE WEST AT 25 MPH.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD
PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...LARGE HAIL...AND
DEADLY LIGHTNING.  PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A SHELTER...
PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 15, 2:05 AM EDT, 1 hour 11 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
200 AM EDT WED APR 15 1987

...LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WEST AND NORTH OF ATLANTA...

AT 200 AM EDT A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS 10 TO 15 MILES WIDE EXTENDED
FROM NEAR LAGRANGE TO NEAR BLUE RIDGE. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS
NEAR CARTERSVILLE. THE LINE WAS MOVING EAST AT NEAR 20 MPH. SMALL HAIL
AND GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. THIS LINE WILL MOVE
THROUGH THE ATLANTA METROPOLITIAN AREA BETWEEN 230 AM AND 400 AM.
Special weather statement, Apr 15, 2:10 AM EDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA
215 AM EDT WED APR 15 1987

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO NORTHEAST GEORGIA...

A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM BLUE RIDGE IN
EXTREME NORTH GEORGIA SOUTHWEST TO A POINT JUST WEST OF ATLANTA.

THIS LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR
AND WILL ENTER THE COUNTIES OF UNION AND LUMPKIN IN NORTHEAST
GEORGIA BY 230 AM EDT.

STRONG GUSTY WINDS..BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING
..AND SMALL HAIL POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Atlanta, GA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 14, 10:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWalker47 min
Apr 14, 10:33 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCatoosa27 min
Apr 15, 3:53 AM EDTTornado WarningFFCHabersham67 min
Apr 15, 4:45 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClarke, Madison30 min
Apr 15, 4:45 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCOconee30 min
Apr 15, 6:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWilkinson30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

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.