Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 74, NWS Atlanta, GA

March 16, 1996Cobb County, DeKalb County, Fulton County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 16, 1996, 6:27 PM EST for Cobb County, DeKalb County, Fulton County, Georgia. It was in force for 48 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: Mar 16, 1996, 6:27 PM EST (23:27 UTC)
Expired: Mar 16, 1996, 7:15 PM EST
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Atlanta, GA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Cobb County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Fulton County, GA

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:31 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Mar 16, 6:30 PM EST	Hail 1.5	Smyrna, 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 52 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: 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 
WUUS1 KATL 162327 RRA
SVRATL
GAC067-089-121-170015-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
627 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
 
   ...COBB COUNTY...DE KALB COUNTY...FULTON COUNTY
 
AT 625 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
JUST EAST OF SMYRNA ON HIGHWAY 5. THIS STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 MILES
AN HOUR.
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

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, Mar 16, 2:55 PM EST, 3 hours 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
255 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

240 PM     SOUTHEAST PORTION         GA   1.00 INCH HAIL
3/16/96    HARRIS                         WSO CGS OIC REPORTED ONE
                                          INCH HAIL KIN SOUTHEAST HARRIS
                                          COUNTY

Local storm report, Mar 16, 2:59 PM EST, 3 hours 28 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
255 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

240 PM     SOUTHEAST PORTION         GA   1.00 INCH HAIL
3/16/96    HARRIS                         WSO CGS OIC REPORTED ONE
                                          INCH HAIL KIN SOUTHEAST HARRIS
                                          COUNTY

Local storm report, Mar 16, 3:46 PM EST, 2 hours 41 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
346 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

300 PM     TALBOTTON                 GA   0.75 inch hail
3/16/96    TALBOT

245 PM     MEANSVILLE                GA   WIND DAMAGE
3/16/96    PIKE                           PINE TREES DOWN IN MEANSVILLE
                                          AND 6 SE MEANSVILLE...POWER
                                          LINES DOWNED AND TRAILERS
                                          DAMAGED...STILL GETTING
                                          REPORTS.

245 PM     4W BARNESVILLE            GA   WIND DAMAGE
3/16/96    LAMAR                          LARGE TREES DOWN ACROSS HWAY
                                          18 AND ON CARS.

Local storm report, Mar 16, 3:52 PM EST, 2 hours 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
346 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

300 PM     TALBOTTON                 GA   0.75 inch hail
3/16/96    TALBOT

245 PM     MEANSVILLE                GA   WIND DAMAGE
3/16/96    PIKE                           PINE TREES DOWN IN MEANSVILLE
                                          AND 6 SE MEANSVILLE...POWER
                                          LINES DOWNED AND TRAILERS
                                          DAMAGED...STILL GETTING
                                          REPORTS.

245 PM     4W BARNESVILLER            GA   WIND DAMAGE
3/16/96    LAMAR                          LARGE TREES DOWN ACROSS HWAY
                                          18 AND ON CARS.

Local storm report, Mar 16, 4:38 PM EST, 1 hour 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
438 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

4:00 TO 4:10 PM
           ELLIJAY                   GA   0.75 inch hail
3/16/96    GILMER                         DIME SIZED HAIL

Local storm report, Mar 16, 4:41 PM EST, 1 hour 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
438 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

4:00 TO 4:10 PM
           ELLIJAY                   GA   0.75 inch hail
3/16/96    GILMER                         DIME SIZED HAIL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 15, 7:01 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Cobb	44 min
Mar 15, 7:09 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Chattooga, Floyd	36 min
Mar 15, 7:22 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett	38 min
Mar 15, 8:28 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Clayton, Henry	47 min
Mar 15, 8:38 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Jasper, Morgan, Newton	52 min
Mar 16, 1:03 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Heard, Troup	42 min
Mar 16, 1:20 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Coweta, Meriwether	40 min
Mar 16, 1:45 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Harris	60 min
Mar 16, 1:56 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Clayton	64 min
Mar 16, 1:56 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Meriwether	64 min
Mar 16, 1:59 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Meriwether, Pike	61 min
Mar 16, 2:12 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Pike	63 min
Mar 16, 2:32 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Lamar	43 min
Mar 16, 2:53 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Monroe	52 min
Mar 16, 2:56 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Harris, Talbot	49 min
Mar 16, 3:17 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Troup	43 min
Mar 16, 3:37 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Jones	53 min
Mar 16, 4:01 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Gilmer	44 min
Mar 16, 4:04 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Baldwin, Wilkinson	41 min
Mar 16, 4:14 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Bartow, Cherokee, Gordon, Pickens	46 min
Mar 16, 4:27 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Washington	48 min
Mar 16, 4:34 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Bibb, Twiggs	26 min
Mar 16, 4:52 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Washington	53 min
Mar 16, 5:04 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Laurens, Wilkinson	56 min
Mar 16, 5:20 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Emanuel, Jefferson, Johnson	40 min
Mar 16, 6:08 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Carroll, Haralson	52 min
Mar 16, 6:15 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Emanuel, Treutlen	45 min
Mar 16, 6:24 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Emanuel, Montgomery, Toombs, Treutlen	51 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 1996 Every 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.