Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 59, NWS Atlanta, GA

March 16, 1996Coweta County, Meriwether County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 16, 1996, 1:20 PM EST for Coweta County, Meriwether County, Georgia. It was in force for 40 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 16, 1996, 1:20 PM EST (18:20 UTC)
Expired
Mar 16, 1996, 2:00 PM EST
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Coweta County, GA, Meriwether County, GA

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 24 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:22 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 28 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 1996-03-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 89 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 1996-03-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 79 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
89 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-65 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
747 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
79 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
151 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 161821 RRA
SVRATL
GAC077-199-161900-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
120 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  200 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
 
   ...COWETA COUNTY
 
IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA
 
   ...MERIWETHER COUNTY
 
AT 119 PM EST RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES NORTH
OF LAGRANGE GEORGIA MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.
THE STORM SHOULD PASS THROUGH THE CITIES OF LONE OAK AND LUTHERSVILLE.
 
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD
PREPAR8E 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, Mar 16, 11:09 AM EST, 2 hours 11 minutes before
GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086-
091>098-103>113-170000-

NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
1108 AM EST SAT MAR 16 1996

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR ALL OF NORTH AND
CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

A WARM FRONT EXTENDED FROM THE CAROLINAS ACROSS TENNESSEE INTO LOW
PRESSURE OVER NORTHEAST ARKANSAS. THIS PUT GEORGIA IN THE WARM MOIST
UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL MOVE
ACROSS GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT AND THIS WILL AID IN
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IN NORTH AND
CENTRAL GEORGIA SHOULD MONITOR LOCAL WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE READY
FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION.

KM
Special weather statement, Mar 16, 11:09 AM EST, 2 hours 11 minutes before
GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086-
091>098-103>113-170000-

NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
1108 AM EST SAT MAR 16 1996

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR ALL OF NORTH AND
CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

A WARM FRONT EXTENDED FROM THE CAROLINAS ACROSS TENNESSEE INTO LOW
PRESSURE OVER NORTHEAST ARKANSAS. THIS PUT GEORGIA IN THE WARM MOIST
UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL MOVE
ACROSS GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT AND THIS WILL AID IN
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL IN NORTH AND
CENTRAL GEORGIA SHOULD MONITOR LOCAL WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE READY
FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION.

KM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 15, 7:01 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCobb44 min
Mar 15, 7:09 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattooga, Floyd36 min
Mar 15, 7:22 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett38 min
Mar 15, 8:28 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClayton, Henry47 min
Mar 15, 8:38 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCJasper, Morgan, Newton52 min
Mar 16, 1:03 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHeard, Troup42 min
Mar 16, 1:45 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHarris60 min
Mar 16, 1:56 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClayton64 min
Mar 16, 1:56 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMeriwether64 min
Mar 16, 1:59 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMeriwether, Pike61 min
Mar 16, 2:12 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCPike63 min
Mar 16, 2:32 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCLamar43 min
Mar 16, 2:53 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMonroe52 min
Mar 16, 2:56 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHarris, Talbot49 min
Mar 16, 3:17 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCTroup43 min
Mar 16, 3:37 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCJones53 min
Mar 16, 4:01 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGilmer44 min
Mar 16, 4:04 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCBaldwin, Wilkinson41 min
Mar 16, 4:14 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBartow, Cherokee, Gordon, Pickens46 min
Mar 16, 4:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWashington48 min
Mar 16, 4:34 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBibb, Twiggs26 min
Mar 16, 4:52 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCWashington53 min
Mar 16, 5:04 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCLaurens, Wilkinson56 min
Mar 16, 5:20 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCEmanuel, Jefferson, Johnson40 min
Mar 16, 6:08 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCarroll, Haralson52 min
Mar 16, 6:15 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCEmanuel, Treutlen45 min
Mar 16, 6:24 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCEmanuel, Montgomery, Toombs, Treutlen51 min
Mar 16, 6:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCobb, DeKalb, Fulton48 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.