Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Atlanta, GA

January 2, 1996Washington County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at Jan 2, 1996, 4:38 PM EST for Washington County, Georgia. It was in force for 52 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
Jan 2, 1996, 4:38 PM EST (21:38 UTC)
Expired
Jan 2, 1996, 5:30 PM EST
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

County Washington County, GA

The radar

The Robins AFB radar (KJGX), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:38 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 2, 4:50 PM ESTHail 0.75Sandersville, 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, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 165 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 1996-01-02Temperature 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 1996-01-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 290 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
-41 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
512 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
74 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
290 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
316 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KATL 022139
TORATL
GAC303-022230-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
438 PM EST TUE JAN 2 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA
 
   ...WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
AT 436 PM RADAR WAS SHOWING A POSSIBLE TORNADO IN CENTRAL WASHINGTON
COUNTY...JUST WEST OF SANDERSVILLE.
 
THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING EAST-NORTH-EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.
 
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 2, 4:30 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWashington45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes 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.