Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Atlanta, GA

March 16, 19964 counties in Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at Mar 16, 1996, 6:24 PM EST for 4 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 51 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, 6:24 PM EST (23:24 UTC)
Expired
Mar 16, 1996, 7:15 PM EST
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Emanuel County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA

The radar

The Robins AFB radar (KJGX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:26 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
Mar 16, 6:45 PM ESTThunderstorm WindOak Park, 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

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 214 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, Jacksonville, FL at 12:00Z on 1996-03-16Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Jacksonville, FL at 12:00Z on 1996-03-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 85 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
691 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
136 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 162324
TORATL
GAC209-107-283-279-170015-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
624 PM EST SAT MAR 16 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL GEORGIA
 
   ...NORTHERN MONTGOMERY COUNTY
 
IN EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA
 
   ...SOUTHERN EMANUEL COUNTY...TREUTLEN COUNTY
 
IN SOUTHEAST GEORGIA
 
   ...NORTHERN TOOMBS COUNTY
 
AT 620 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO
CROSSING HIGHWAY 15 FIVE MILES NORTH OF TERRYTOWN MOVING EAST AT 20
MILES AN HOUR. THE TOWNS OF NORMANTOWN AND OAKPARK ARE IN THE PATH OF
THIS DANGEROUS STORM.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST F$LOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

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, 1:20 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCoweta, Meriwether40 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, 6:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCobb, DeKalb, Fulton48 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.