Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 19, NWS Atlanta, GA
NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 18, 1988, 8:50 PM EDT for Bibb County, Crawford County, Georgia. It was in force for 55 min. 2 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
- Apr 18, 1988, 8:50 PM EDT (00:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 18, 1988, 9:45 PM EDT
- In force
- 55 min
- Issued by
- NWS Atlanta, GA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Bibb County, GA, Crawford 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 18, 9:05 PM EDT | Hail 0.75 | Crawford, GA | |
| Apr 18, 9:22 PM EDT | Hail 1.25 | Bibb, 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, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 141 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
- 218 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -36 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1711 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 60 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 148 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 151 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KMCN 190050
SVRMCN
GAC021-079-190145-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MACON GA
850 PM EDT MON APR 18 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MACON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 945 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN CENTRAL GEORGIA
...BIBB...CRAWFORD
AT 850 PM RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN CRAWFORD COUNTY
NEAR ROBERTA MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.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
Local storm report, Apr 18, 3:29 PM EDT, 5 hours 21 minutes before
DELAYED STORM REPORT...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBUS GA
325 PM EDT MON APR 18 1988
...REF STORM ACTIVITY MON APR 18 1988...
.TIME.....1015 AM EDT
.COUNTY...HARRIS
.LOCATION...TOWN OF WAVERLY HALL GEORGIA...20 NE OF CSG
.DAMAGE...ONE BARN TOTALLY DESTROYED WITH THREE AUTOMOBILES DAMAGED
UNDERNEATH. ANOTHER BARN LOST ROOF. THREE HOUSES DAMAGED
BY FALLING TREES. ABOUT 30 LARGE OAK AND PINE TREES UPROOTED
OR SNAPPED AT MIDDLE. SEVERAL POWER LINES AND TELEPHONE
POLES DOWN.
.WARNINGS...NONE
.WATCHES...NONE. SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT ISSUED AT 952 AM EDT.
.ADDITIONAL...NO INJURIES. DAMAGE COVERED AREA ABOUT 150 YARDS BY
3/4 MILE. SOME EVIDENCE OF CIRCULATING WINDS BASED ON DIRECTION OF
FALLEN TREES. DAMAGE INVESTIGATED BY TWO NWS PERSONNEL.Special weather statement, Apr 18, 7:17 PM EDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBUS GA 717 PM EDT MON APR 18 1988 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #66 CONTINUES FOR MOST OF SOUTH ALABAMA UNTIL 11 PM EDT...INCLUDING RUSSELL...LEE...AND CHAMBERS COUNTIES IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA... AT 712 PM EDT COLUMBUS WEATHER RADAR INDICATED SEVERAL INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHEAST ALABAMA AND SOUTHWEST GEORGIA. THE MOST INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE JUST NORTH OF CAMP RUCKER AND JUST EAST OF DOTHAN IN ALABAMA...AND NEAR DAMASCUS IN EARLY COUNTY GEORGIA. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. PERSONS ACROSS EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND SOUTHWEST GEORGIA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT THIS EVENING FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER. GUSTY WINDcS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND SMALL HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS AND/OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Apr 18, 7:49 PM EDT, 1 hour 1 minute before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBUS GA 745 PM EDT MON APR 18 1988 ...A VERY INTENSE THUNDERSTORM MOVING THROUGH EAST CALHOUN COUNTY OF SOUTHWEST GEORGIA... AT 745 PM EDT COLUMBUS WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A VERY INTENSE THUNDERSTORM OVER EAST CALHOUN COUNTY. ALSO...ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS DEVELOPING OVER CENTRAL MITCHELL COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. PEOPLE LIVING IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS CAN EXPECT PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY SURFACE WINDS. WHEN A THUNDERSTORM THREATENS...GET INSIDE A HOME OR LARGE STURDY BUILDING. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES EXCEPT FOR EMERGENCIES. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS AND/OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
Special weather statement, Apr 18, 8:09 PM EDT, 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBUS GA 807 PM EDT MON APR 18 1988 ...A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES FOR MOST OF SOUTH ALABAMA UNTIL 11 PM EDT... AT 805 PM EDT COLUMBUS WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND MOVING INTO WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA. THE MOST INTENSE STORMS WERE ON THE GEORGIA/ALABAMA BORDER 15 MILES WEST OF LUMPKIN GEORGIA AND 8 MILES NORTH OF EUFAULA ALABAMA. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. PEOPLE LIVING IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS CAN EXPECT PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY SURFACE WINDS. WHEN A THUNDERSTORM THREATENS...GET INSIDE A HOME OR LARGE STURDY BUILDING. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES EXCEPT FOR EMERGENCIES. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER LOCAL NEWS MEDIA FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS AND/OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
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.