Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 190, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 2, 1997Catoosa County, Whitfield County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 1997, 7:51 PM EDT for Catoosa County, Whitfield County, Georgia. It was in force for 54 min. 2 reports 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
May 2, 1997, 7:51 PM EDT (23:51 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 1997, 8:45 PM EDT
In force
54 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Catoosa County, GA, Whitfield County, GA

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 2, 8:10 PM EDTHail 0.75Ft Oglethorpe, GA
May 2, 8:30 PM EDTThunderstorm WindDalton, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 2, 4:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 173 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 1997-05-02Temperature 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 1997-05-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 101 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
2081 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
101 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
116 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 022350 RRA
SVRATL
GAC047-313-030045-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
751 PM EDT FRI MAY 2 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
 
   ...CATOOSA COUNTY...WHITFIELD COUNTY
 
AT 745 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM NEAR TRENTON AND CLOUDLAND CANYON STATE PARK. THIS STORM
WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 35 MPH. THE STORM WILL BE NEAR RINGGOLD AT 800
PM AND TO DALTON BY 815 PM EDT.
 
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT IN OR NEAR 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.
 
IF YOU EXPERIENCE STORM DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES OR TREES...OR HAIL THE
SIZE OF DIMES OR LARGER...PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE BY CALLING 770-486-8535.

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, May 2, 2:41 PM EDT, 5 hours 10 minutes before
GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>073-078>082-091-
030400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
156 PM EDT FRI MAY 2 1997

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO THREATEN NORTHWEST GEORGIA THIS EVENING
AND THE REMAINDER OF NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA LATER TONIGHT...

A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IN THE MIDWEST WILL MOVE INTO THE OHIO
AREA OVERNIGHT. INCREASING SOUTHERLY WINDS AHEAD OF THIS STORM
CENTER WILL SPREAD WARM...MOIST..AND UNSTABLE AIR ACROSS THE
SOUTHEAST THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT AS IT GATHERS MOMENTUM. THE
LEADING EDGE OF THE WARMER AND MORE UNSTABLE AIRMASS WAS ALREADY
TRIGGERING SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN ARKANSAS...WEST TENNESSEE AND
NORTH MISSISSIPPI THIS AFTERNOON.

PEOPLE IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA IN THE ROME TO CHATSWORTH MAY EXPECT
STORMS TO MOVE AND DEVELOP INTO THE AREA THIS EVENING. THESE
STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. THE STORMS
WILL CONTINUE SPREADING OVER NORTH AND WEST GEORGIA TONIGHT AND BY
SATURDAY MORNING THEY COULD BE AS FAR SOUTH A LINE EXTENDING FROM
AUGUSTA TO ALBANY.

ALTHOUGH LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING MAY WEAKEN THE STORMS SOME AFTER
MIDNIGHT...THIS VOLATILE SYSTEM WILL POSE A THREAT OF DAMAGE OVER
THE AREA.

PERSONS IN NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA NEED TO STAY ABREAST OF THIS
DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION TONIGHT AND INTO SATURDAY MORNING. STORM
SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NECESSARY. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFxICIALS SHOULD REMAIN IN AN ALERT POSTURE.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR LOCAL NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER INFORMATRION
SOURCES SUCH AS COMMERCIAL TELEVISION AND RADIO AND CABLE TV.
Special weather statement, May 2, 5:15 PM EDT, 2 hours 36 minutes before
GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086-
091>098-103>113-031200-

NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
515 PM EDT FRI MAY 2 1997

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL
GEORGIA TONIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY.

A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE CENTRAL U.S. IS EXPECTED TO
MOVE EAST...PULLING A COLD FRONT ACROSS GEORGIA LATE TONIGHT AND
SATURDAY.

THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT WILL MOVE
EAST...AFFECTING EXTREME NORTHWEST GEORGIA EARLY THIS EVENING THEN
SPREAD ACROSS THE REST OF NORTH AND AND CENTRAL GEORGIA LATER
TONIGHT. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE...PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS
AND LARGE HAIL. ISLOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE.

SPOTTERS GROUPS IN NORTH GEORGIA SHOULD ACTIVATE THEIR NETWORK AROUND
8 PM THIS EVENING. SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL
IN CENTRAL GEORGIA SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER DEVELOPEMENTS AND BE READY
FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION AFTER MIDNIGHT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 7:14 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCDade, Walker46 min
May 2, 7:17 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCDade, Walker43 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.