Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 55, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 16, 1988Clayton County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 1988, 3:01 PM EDT for Clayton County, Georgia. It was in force for 29 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: May 16, 1988, 3:01 PM EDT (19:01 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 1988, 3:30 PM EDT
In force: 29 min
Issued by: NWS Atlanta, GA
Area: Whole counties

County Clayton 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
May 16, 3:12 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	Clayton, 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, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 108 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: 543 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -124 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1527 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -19 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 161902
SVRATL
GAC063-161930-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
301 PM EDT MON MAY 16 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ATLANTA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
          ...SOUTHERN CLAYTON
 
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL WAS MOVING OUT OF
FAYETTE COUNTY INTO SOUTH CLAYTON COUNTY. THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING
EAST AT 15 MPH.
 
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER FROM THE WEATHER IN A
STRONG BUILDING.  DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.
STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

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, May 16, 1:47 PM EDT, 1 hour 14 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA
 145 PM EDT MON MAY 16, 1988

 THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA HAVE ALREADY PRODUCED
SMALL HAIL THIS AFTERNOON.

CONDITIONS ARE SUCH THAT AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF THUNDERSTORMS
AND HAIL OCCURENCES ARE EXPECTED INTO THE EVENING HOURS.

PERSONS FROM COVINGTON TO MADISON TO ELBERTON AND NORTHWARD THROUGH
NORTHEAST GEORGIA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF
THE DAY FOR STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS HAVING TO DO
WITH THE STORMS AS THEY CONTINUE TO FORM.

THE LARGER STORMS WILL PRODUCE HAIL AND GUSTY SURFACE WINDS
WITH BRIEF DOWNPOURS.

Special weather statement, May 16, 1:54 PM EDT, 1 hour 7 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
155 PM EDT MON MAY 16 1988

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED RAPIDLY ACROSS THE ATLANTA METROPOLITAN
AREAS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. WEATHER CONDITIONS FAVOR THE DEVELOPMENT
OF SOME INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS THAT MAY CONTAIN STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND
POSSIBLY SOME HAIL. A THUNDERSTORM NEAR CORNELIA IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA
HAD ALREADY PRODUCED PEA SIZE HAIL AROUND 130 PM.

PEOPLE NEAR THESE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR DARK
THREATENING CLOUDS APPROCHING FROM THE NORTHWEST. DANGEROUS LIGHTNING
WILL ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS... THEREFORE PERSONS OUTDOORS SHOULD MOVE
INSIDE TO A SAFE AREA.

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL RADIO STATION OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO
FOR UPDATES ON THIS WEATHER.

Special weather statement, May 16, 2:45 PM EDT, 16 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
245 PM EDT MON MAY 16 1988

AT 240 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A BAND OF THUNDERSTORMS
MOVING THROUGH THE ATLANTA METROPOLITAN AREA. THIS BAND EXTENDED FROM
NEAR ACWORTH IN NORTHWEST COBB COUNTY TO DOUGLASVILLE IN DOUGLAS COUNTY
TO NEWNAN IN COWETA COUNTY. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST
AT 20 MPH AND ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BRIEF DOWNPOURS...GUSTY WINDS...
AND SMALL HAIL.

PEOPLE NEAR THESE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR DARK
THREATENING CLOUDS APPROACHING FROM THE WEST. DANGEROUS LIGHTNING
WILL ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS... THEREFORE PERSONS OUTDOORS SHOULD MOVE
INSIDE TO A SAFE AREA.

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL RADIO STATION OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO
FOR UPDATES ON THIS WEATHER.

Special weather statement, May 16, 2:51 PM EDT, 10 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBUS GA
250 PM EDT MON MAY 16 1988

...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FORMING  ACROSS WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA...

    A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF BUTLER IN AN
AREA OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSHOWERS OCCURRING FROM 10 MILES
NORTHEAST OF COLUMBUS TO JUST NORTH OF BUTLER. ANOTHER STRONG
THUNDERSTORM WAS OVER LAKE GEORGE JUST 8 MILES SOUTH OF EUFAULA
ALABAMA. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

     THESE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE INDICATING HAIL AND VERY HEAVY
RAIN ON RADAR. ALSO..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS WILL
BE ACCOMPANIED THESE STORMS. PERSONS NEAR THESE STORMS SHOULD BE READY
TO TAKE SHELTER. ALSO BE LISTENING TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER
NEWS MEDIA FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 2:49 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Rockdale	26 min
May 16, 2:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Newton	65 min
May 16, 3:08 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Elbert	52 min
May 16, 3:27 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Coweta	48 min
May 16, 3:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Henry	46 min
May 16, 3:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding	62 min
May 16, 3:58 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Butts	62 min
May 16, 4:04 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Greene, Oglethorpe, Taliaferro	56 min
May 16, 4:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Columbia	43 min
May 16, 4:49 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Lincoln	56 min
May 16, 4:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Lamar, Pike, Upson	50 min
May 16, 5:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Columbia, McDuffie	59 min
May 16, 5:46 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Johnson	59 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 1988 Every 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.