Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 47, NWS Atlanta, GA

July 31, 1987Newton County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 31, 1987, 7:31 PM EDT for Newton County, Georgia. It was in force for 59 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 31, 1987, 7:31 PM EDT (23:31 UTC)
Expired
Jul 31, 1987, 8:30 PM EDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

County Newton County, GA

The radar

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

The nearest sounding before it

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 67 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 12:00Z on 1987-07-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 516 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 12:00Z on 1987-07-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 7 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
516 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-97 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
827 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KAHN 312331
SVRAHN
GAC217-010030-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA
731 PM EDT FRI JUL 31 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTY OF

NORTHEAST GEORGIA...NEWTON

AT 725PM A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY RADAR OVER
NEWTON COUNTY GEORGIA.

THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING TOWARD THE SOUTH AT 10 MPH.

 A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS DEFINED AS HAVING WINDS AT LEAST 58 MPH
 AND/OR HAIL 3/4 INCH IN DIAMETER OR LARGER. IF THREATENING
 WEATHER APPROACHES...TAKE IMMEDIATE PRECAUTIONS.

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, Jul 31, 5:58 PM EDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA
558 PM EDT FRI JUL 31 1987

A STRONG THUNDERSTORM HAS DEVELOPED OVER WALTON COUNTY OF NORTHEAST
GEORGIA. STRONG WINDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED BY RADIO STATION WKUN DURING
THE PAST 15 MINUTES. TREE WAS REPORTED DOWN ON A CAR. THIS THUNDERSTORM
WAS MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 8 MILES AN HOUR.

PEOPLE IN WALTON..MORGAN AND NEWTON COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA SHOULD
BE ALERT FOR HEAVY RAIN..FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING..STRONG
GUSTY SURFACE WINDS UNTIL 700 PM EDT THIS EVENING.
Special weather statement, Jul 31, 7:22 PM EDT, 9 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
720 PM EDT FRI JUL 31 1987

A STRONG THUNDERSTORM HAS DEVELOPED SOUTHEAST OF ATLANTA IN
HENRY COUNTY.  THIS STORM WAS LOCATED IN THE EASTERN PART OF
THE COUNTY BETWEEN MCDONOUGH AND THE NEWTON COUNTY LINE.

A SECOND STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN SOUTH DEKALB
COUNTY NEAR LITHONIA. BOTH OF THESE STORMS CONTAIN STRONG GUSTY
WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN ALONG WITH INTENSE LIGHTNING.

THESE THUNDERSTORS ARE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH...AND WILL
BE MOVING INTO ROCKDALE AND BUTTS COUNTIES DURING THE NEXT
HOUR.  PEOPLE IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THESE STORMS
AS THEY APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 9:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCStephens58 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.