Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 123, NWS Birmingham, AL

October 24, 1997Quitman County, Georgia

NWS Birmingham, AL issued this tornado warning at Oct 24, 1997, 12:57 PM EDT for Quitman County, Georgia. It was in force for 18 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
Oct 24, 1997, 12:57 PM EDT (16:57 UTC)
Expired
Oct 24, 1997, 1:15 PM EDT
In force
18 min
Issued by
NWS Birmingham, AL
Area
Whole counties

County Quitman County, GA

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 174 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 1997-10-24Temperature 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°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 1997-10-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 423 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
854 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
423 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
597 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 KBHM 241658 RRA
TORBHM
GAC239-241715-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
1157 AM CDT FRI OCT 24 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM AL HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 115 PM EDT (1215 PM CDT)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHWESTERN GEORGIA

   ...SOUTHERN QUITMAN COUNTY...

AT 1253 PM EDT... WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER THE
ALABAMA/GEORGIA BORDER WEST OF HATCHER.  DOPPLER RADAR
INDICATED THAT A TORNADO IS LIKELY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM.  THE
STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 TO 45 MPH.  THE STORM WILL AFFECT
MOSTLY THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTY...INCLUDING HATCHER AND MORRIS.

<<CALL TO ACTION>>
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE... GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A
REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Oct 24, 10:30 AM EDT, 2 hours 27 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-250100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
930 AM CDT FRI OCT 24 1997

A FAST MOVING LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS EAST ALABAMA AND
WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS MORNING.  SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL
BE LIKELY OVER EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THIS MORNING.  THERE IS A CHANCE OF ISOLATED SEVERE
WEATHER THROUGH NOON FOR EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL
GEORGIA.  THE SHOWERS WILL TAPER OFF EARLY THIS AFTERNOON.

ADDITIONAL SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE STATE THIS
AFTERNOON AS A UNSTABLE AIRMASS REMAINS OVER THE AREA.

STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD REMAIN
ALERT FOR CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO
FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS TODAY.  FOR THE SOUTHERN ALABAMA HAZARDOUS
WEATHER OUTLOOK...SEE PRODUCT BHMSPSMOB.

FOR MORE WEATHER INFORMATION VISIT OUR INTERNET SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.ACESAG.AUBURN.EDU/DEPARTMENT/NWS/INDEX.HTML
ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB.
Special weather statement, Oct 24, 10:40 AM EDT, 2 hours 17 minutes before
ALZ001>050-GAZ089-090-102-120-250100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
FOR NORTH/CENTRAL AL AND WEST CENTRAL GA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
930 AM CDT FRI OCT 24 1997

A FAST MOVING LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS EAST ALABAMA AND
WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS MORNING.  SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL
BE LIKELY OVER EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THIS MORNING.  THERE IS A CHANCE OF ISOLATED SEVERE
WEATHER THROUGH NOON FOR EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AND WEST CENTRAL
GEORGIA.  THE SHOWERS WILL TAPER OFF EARLY THIS AFTERNOON.

ADDITIONAL SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE STATE THIS
AFTERNOON AS A UNSTABLE AIRMASS REMAINS OVER THE AREA.

STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD REMAIN
ALERT FOR CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO
FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS TODAY.  FOR THE SOUTHERN ALABAMA HAZARDOUS
WEATHER OUTLOOK...SEE PRODUCT BHMSPSMOB.

FOR MORE WEATHERX INFORMATION VISIT OUR INTERNET SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.ACESAG.AUBURN.EDU/DEPARTMENT/NWS/INDEX.HTML
ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB.

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes in 1997

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.