Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Atlanta, GA

April 15, 1987Habersham County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at Apr 15, 1987, 3:53 AM EDT for Habersham County, Georgia. It was in force for 67 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, 3:53 AM EDT (07:53 UTC)
Expired: Apr 15, 1987, 5:00 AM EDT
In force: 67 min
Issued by: NWS Atlanta, GA
Area: Whole counties

County Habersham 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 15, 4:30 AM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 0	Habersham, 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, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 79 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: 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 150753
TORAHN
GAC137-150900-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA
353 AM EDT WED APR 15 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  500 AM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA
          ...HABERSHAM
 
AT 350 AM EDT...THE HABERSHAM CIVIL DEFENCE REPORTED RECEIVED A
REPORT OF A FUNNEL CLOUD.
 
AN INTENSE THUNDERSTORM WAS CENTERED JUST NORTHEAST OF CORNELIA
IN SOUTHERN HABERSHAM COUNTY.
 
THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 14, 10:13 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Walker	47 min
Apr 14, 10:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Catoosa	27 min
Apr 15, 3:16 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Dawson, Hall, Lumpkin	59 min
Apr 15, 4:45 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Clarke, Madison	30 min
Apr 15, 4:45 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Oconee	30 min
Apr 15, 6:15 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Wilkinson	30 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 1987 Every tornado warning in 1987 Tornadoes 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.