Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 23, NWS Atlanta, GA
NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 23, 1988, 2:14 PM EDT for Baldwin County, Jones County, Georgia. It was in force for 46 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 23, 1988, 2:14 PM EDT (18:14 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 23, 1988, 3:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 46 min
- Issued by
- NWS Atlanta, GA
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Baldwin County, GA, Jones 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 23, 2:30 PM EDT | Hail 1 | Jones, GA | |
| Apr 23, 2:50 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Baldwin, 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 12:00Z, 6.2 hours before the alert went out and 101 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
- 731 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -196 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 648 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 136 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 172 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KMCN 231814
SVRMCN
GAC009-169-231900-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MACON GA
214 PM EDT SAT APR 23 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MACON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 300 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN CENTRAL GEORGIA
...BALDWIN...JONES
AT 210 PM EDT RADAR LOCATED A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTH OF
GRAY IN JONES COUNTY MOVING EAST 30 MILES AN HOUR.. IT WAS PRODUCING
HAIL FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WIND OVER 40 MILES AN HOUR. ON ITS
PRESENT TRACK THE STORM WILL PASS BETWEEN GORDON AND
MILLEDGEVILLE ALONG THE SOUTH BORDER OF BALDWIN COUNTY.
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 XDRIVE 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
Special weather statement, Apr 23, 12:12 PM EDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA 1210 PM EDT SAT APR 23 1988 SEVERAL STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD BEGUN FORMING OVER CENTRAL ALABAMA COUNTIES BY 1205 PM EDT. RADAR INDICATED A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM HAD MOVED INTO WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA JUST SOUTH OF LAGRANGE IN TROUP COUNTY. THIS STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING GENERALLY EST AT NEAR 50 MPH. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN ALABAMA AND WEST GEORGIA ARE AHEAD OF A LARGER AREA OF PRECIPITATION OVER MISSISSIPPI...ARKANSAS ...LOUISIANA...AND TEXAS. THIS LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE EAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE STRONGEST OF THESE STORMS MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY GUSTY WINDS... SMALL HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN. PERSONS IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA... INCLUDING THE LAGRANGE AREA SHOULD STAY ALERT TO THIS CHANGING WEATHER SITUATION AND BE READY TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS AS NECESSARY.
Special weather statement, Apr 23, 12:25 PM EDT, 1 hour 49 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBUS GA 1225 PM EDT SAT APR 23 1988 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART OF CENTRAL ALABAMA FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...CHAMBERS...LEE... RUSSELL UNTIL 6 PM EDT... ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED OVER EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA... AT 1220 PM EDT COLUMBUS WEATHER RADAR INDICATED AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM LANETT ALABAMA EXTENDING EAST TO WOODBURY AND DURAND IN MERIWEATHER COUNTY. MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 40 MPH. THE STRONGEST OF THESE STORMS MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY GUSTY WINDS... SMALL HAIL AND HEAVY RAINS. PERSONS IN EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA SHOULD STAY ALERT TO THIS CHANGING WEATHER SITUATION AND BE READY TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS AS NECESSARY.
Special weather statement, Apr 23, 1:19 PM EDT, 55 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA 120 PM EDT SAT APR 23 1988 SEVERAL STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORMING OVER WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON. AT 115PM EDT RADAR INDICATED VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER UPSON... PIKE... AND LAMAR COUNTIES. ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM HAD BEGUN JUST WEST OF GRIFFIN IN SPAULDING COUNTY. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE RAPIDLY MOVING EAST AT SPEEDS AROUND 45 MPH. SHOWERS AND STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE CONTINUING IN ALABAMA AND WEST INTO MISSISSIPPI... ARKANSAS... LOUISIANA... AND TEXAS. THIS PRECIPI- TION AREA WILL CONTINUE EAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON INTO GEORGIA. THE STRONGEST OF THESE STORMS MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY GUSTY WINDS... HAIL AND +VERY HEAVY RAIN. PERSONS IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA INCLUDING THE GRIFFIN AREA SHOULD STAY ALERT TO THIS CHANGING WEATHER SITUATION AND BE READY TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS AS NECESSARY.
Special weather statement, Apr 23, 2:07 PM EDT, 7 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA 210 PM EDT SAT APR 23 1988 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY ACROSS NORTHWEST GEORGIA... AT 200 PM... SEVERAL STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY ACROSS PARTS OF NORTHWEST GEORGIA... INCLUDING THE ATLANTA METRO AREA. A BAND OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM ANNISTON ALABAMA ACROSS THE CARROLLTON AREA TO FAIRBURN AND EAST TO COVINGTON. OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE SCATTERED ACROSS MOST OF CENTRAL GEORGIA AS WELL. RESIDENTS OF NORTHWEST GEORGIA CAN EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS FOR MUCH OF THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON...AS THE UNSETTLED WEATHER EXTENDS BACK INTO ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. SOME OF THE HEAVIER THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE TORRENTIAL RAINS... STRONG GUSTY WINDS AS HIGH AS 40 TO 50 MPH... AND EVEN HAIL AS THEY MOVE EAST AT 40 MPH. RESIDENTS OF NORTHWEST GEORGIA SHOULD KEEP A WEATHER WATCH FOR THE REST OF TODAY AND TONIGHT... AS SOME OF THE THiUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE. KEEP TUNED TO COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TV OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WATCHES/WARNINGS.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Atlanta, GA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Bibb, Jones, Monroe | 50 min |
| Apr 23, 5:54 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | FFC | Jenkins | 36 min |
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.