Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1989

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 15, NWS Atlanta, GA

April 3, 1989Hall County, Jackson County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 1989, 8:56 AM EDT for Hall County, Jackson County, Georgia. It was in force for 64 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 3, 1989, 8:56 AM EDT (12:56 UTC)
Expired
Apr 3, 1989, 10:00 AM EDT
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Hall County, GA, Jackson County, GA

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Athens Municipal, GA (KAHN), launched 12:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 47 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 12:00Z on 1989-04-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 1989-04-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 281 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1592 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
281 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
292 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 KAHN 031258
SVRAHN
GAC139-157-031400-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATHENS GA
856 AM EDT MON APR 3 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ATHENS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA
          ...HALL...JACKSON
 
HALL COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE REPORTS THAT GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL IS
OCCURRING IN SOUTHERN HALL COUNTY NEAR FLOWERY BRANCH.
THE ATHENS RADAR INDICATES A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN SOUTHERN
HALL COUNTY  MOVING TO THE EAST AT 40 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

Special weather statement, Apr 3, 6:03 AM EDT, 2 hours 53 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
605 AM MON APR 3 1989

AT 605 AM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS IN
NORTHWEST GEORGIA IN FANNIN...GILMER...AND MURRAY COUNTIES NEAR THE
TOWNS OF BLUE RIDGE...ELLIJAY AND ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTH OF CHATSWORTH.

THESE CELLS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT SPEEDS NEAR 40 MPH. THIS WOULD
TAKE THEM INTO UNION COUNTY AND THEY WOULD CONTINUE ACROSS FANNIN AND
GILMER COUNTIES NEAR THE CITIES OF BLAIRSVILLE AND ELIJAY BETWEEN
6 AM AND 7AM.

SMALL HAIL...GUSTY WINDS...BRIEF HEAVY RAINS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNIN
MAY ACCOMPANNY THESE STORMS. PERSONS IN EXTREME NORTH GEORGIA SHOULD STAY
ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CO=NDITIONS AS THESE STORMS APPROACH AND
BE READY TO TAKE SHELTER AS NEEDED.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATIONS FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION.
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 8:47 AM EDT, 9 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA GA
847 AM EDT MON APR 3 1989

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE MOVED INTO THE
NORTHERN PARTS OF THE ATLANTA METROPOLITAN AREA. AT 8 30 AM RADAR
INDICATED THE MAIN BAND OF ACTIVITY ALONG A LINE THAT STRETCHED FROM
CORNELIA TO CEDARTOWN. THE BAND WAS ABOUT 40 MILES WIDE.

A STRONG STORM WAS INDICATED OVER BARTOW AND PAULDING COUNTIES. ANOTHER
WAS OVER FORSYTH COUNTY. THE STORMS WERE MOVING RAPIDLY EAST AROUND 50
MPH.

A STORM OVER ROSWELL PRODUCED QUARTER SIZE HAIL EARLIER THIS MORNING IN
ADDITION TO FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS.

PERSONS IN NORTH GEORGIA SHOULD REMAIN ALERT AS THESE STORMS EFFECT
THE REGION OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 1989Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1989

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.