Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 166, NWS Atlanta, GA

August 2, 1988Douglas County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 2, 1988, 9:11 PM EDT for Douglas County, Georgia. It was in force for 49 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
Aug 2, 1988, 9:11 PM EDT (01:11 UTC)
Expired
Aug 2, 1988, 10:00 PM EDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

County Douglas 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
Aug 2, 9:40 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 0Douglas, 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, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 138 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 1988-08-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 22 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 1988-08-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 56 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
22 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-292 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1619 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
56 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
96 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 KATL 030112
SVRATL
GAC097-030200-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
911 PM EDT TUE AUG 2 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ATLANTA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
          ...DOUGLAS
 
THIS STORM PRODUCED 60 MPH WINDS NEAR SIX FLAGS IN THE VICNINTY OF
I-20 AND I-285 AT FULTON COUNTY AIRPORT. THE STORM IS MOVING SOUTHWEST
AT 10 MPH INTO DOUGLAS COUNTY.
 
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, Aug 2, 5:11 PM EDT, 4 hours before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA
510 PM EDT TUE AUG 2 1988

. . . STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER NORTHEAST GEORGIA. . .

AT 510 PM EDT RADAR INDICATED VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER
HART...FRANKLIN...AND RABUN COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA.
PERSONS IN THESE COUNTIES CAN EXPECT VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS FOR THE NEXT
HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS SHOW VERY LITTLE MOVEMEN+T.
Local storm report, Aug 2, 5:41 PM EDT, 3 hours 30 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA
540 PM EDT TUE AUG 2 1988

COUNTY........ HART

SOURCE........ SHERIFFS OFFICE

TIME.......... 445 PM EDT 2045Z 2 AUG 1988

LOCATION...... MT OLIVE CUMMUNITY NEAR HATWELL GA 35/30 FM AHN

TYPE STORM.... TORNADO RPTD...MORE LIKELY DOWNBUST

HAIL.......... NONE REPORTED

DAMAGE........ DAMAGE TO OUT BUILDINGS AND TREES DOWN

INJURIES...... NONE REPORTED

WARNING....... NONE
    ]

I
Special weather statement, Aug 2, 8:41 PM EDT, 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
840 PM EDT TUE AUG 2 1988

    .....THUNDERSTORMS RUMBLING ACROSS METRO ATLANTA.....

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER ATLANTA THIS EVENING. AT
835 PM EDT RADAR SHOWED THE STRONGEST STORMS OVER THE DOWNTOWN AREA
EXTENDING EAST ACROSS THE DECATUR/DEKALB COUNTY AREA. THE STORMS
WERE MOVING SLOWLY TO THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST.

HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS...SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY
WINDS ARE POSSIBLE.

PEOPLE IN METROPOLITAN ATLANTA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS UNTIL AROUND 10 PM. BE READY SEEK SHELTER QUICKLY
IF THREATENING WEATHER DEVELOPS IN YOUR AREA. MOTORISTS MAY
ENCOUNTER FLOODED ROADS AND GREATLY REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN THE
TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS.
Special weather statement, Aug 2, 9:11 PM EDT, 0 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
910 PM EDT TUE AUG 2 1988

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO RUMBLE ACROSS ATLANTA THIS EVENING.
AT 905 PM EDT RADAR SHOWED THE STRONGEST STORMS PUSHING INTO THE
MABLETON AREA ON THE CITY'S WEST SIDE. FULTON COUNTY AIRPORT NEAR
MABLETON REPORTED 60 MPH WINDS AT 905 PM EDT.

IN ADDITION TO STRONG AND POSSIBLY DAMAGING WINDS THE STORMS ARE
PRODUCING FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES. HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE LIKELY
AND THERE IS A CHANCE OF SOME SMALL HAIL.

PEOPLE IN METROPOLITAN ATLANTA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR STRONG THUNDER-
STORMS IN THE AREA UNTIL AROUND 10 PM. BE READY SEEK SHELTER QUICKLY
IF THREATENING WEATHER DEVELOPS IN YOUR AREA. MOTORISTS MAY
ENCOUNTER FLOODED ROADS AND GREATLY REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN THE
TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 1988Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1988

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.