Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 226, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 3, 1997Fayette County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 1997, 8:36 AM EDT for Fayette County, Georgia. It was in force for 54 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
May 3, 1997, 8:36 AM EDT (12:36 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 1997, 9:30 AM EDT
In force
54 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

County Fayette County, GA

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 9 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:39 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
May 3, 9:00 AM EDTThunderstorm WindPeachtree City, GAA 75 foot high, 12 inch in diameter tree was knocked down in Peachtree City. A tree was also downed in Fayetteville on Wagon Wheel Road.

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 3, 3:00 AM EDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr
May 3, 8:30 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 5 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 1997-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1144 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 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 1997-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 226 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1144 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
542 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
226 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
235 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
8.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 3, 6:00 AM EDT, 2 hours 36 minutes before
GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086-
091>098-103>113-031800-

NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
600 AM EDT SAT MAY 3 1997

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE STATE OF
GEORGIA TODAY.

A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM LIFTING THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY INTO THE
LOWER GREAT LAKES WILL SWING A COLD FRONT THROUGH ALABAMA AND INTO
CENTRAL GEORGIA BY AFTERNOON.

THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH
NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS MORNING... AND PUSHING FURTHER SOUTHWARD
THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.  THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OFF THE GEORGIA
COAST TONIGHT AS COOLER AND DRIER WEATHER ADVANCES THROUGH THE NORTHERN
COUNTIES.  SOME OF THESE STORMS MAYBE SEVERE...PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS
AND LARGE HAIL.  ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE.
SPOTTER GROUPS IN NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER
DEVELOPEMENT AND BE READY FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION LATER THIS MORNING
AND AFTERNOON.

BDG
Special weather statement, May 3, 6:05 AM EDT, 2 hours 31 minutes before
GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086-
091>098-103>113-031800-

NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
600 AM EDT SAT MAY 3 1997

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE STATE OF
GEORGIA TODAY.

A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM LIFTING THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY INTO THE
LOWER GREAT LAKES WILL SWING A COLD FRONT THROUGH ALABAMA AND INTO
CENTRAL GEORGIA BY AFTERNOON.

THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH
NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS MORNING... AND PUSHING FURTHER SOUTHWARD
THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.  THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OFF THE GEORGIA
COAST TONIGHT AS COOLER AND DRIER WEATHER ADVANCES THROUGH THE NORTHERN
COUNTIES.  SOME OF THESE STORMS MAYBE SEVERE...PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS
AND LARGE HAIL.  ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE.
SPOTTER GROUPS IN NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER
DEVELOPEMENT AND BE READY FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION LATER THIS MORNING
AND AFTERNOON.

BDG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 8:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattooga37 min
May 2, 8:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMurray34 min
May 2, 8:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCFannin, Gilmer48 min
May 2, 8:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMurray, Whitfield46 min
May 2, 8:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWalker46 min
May 2, 8:56 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGordon34 min
May 2, 9:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCobb21 min
May 2, 9:35 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGilmer, Murray25 min
May 2, 9:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattooga, Walker52 min
May 2, 9:38 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDade52 min
May 2, 10:02 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCatoosa, Whitfield28 min
May 2, 10:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCFloyd32 min
May 2, 10:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBartow, Gordon45 min
May 2, 10:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMurray26 min
May 2, 10:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGilmer, Pickens41 min
May 2, 11:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDawson, Fannin, Lumpkin37 min
May 2, 11:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCUnion41 min
May 2, 11:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCTowns, White30 min
May 3, 1:10 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningFFCGordon, Murray, Walker, Whitfield3 hr
May 3, 1:10 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningFFCChattooga, Floyd3 hr
May 3, 1:10 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningFFCGilmer, Pickens3 hr
May 3, 1:30 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattooga45 min
May 3, 1:51 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCFloyd39 min
May 3, 2:21 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBartow, Gordon39 min
May 3, 2:28 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCPolk32 min
May 3, 2:33 AM EDTTornado WarningFFCPolk42 min
May 3, 2:42 AM EDTTornado WarningFFCBartow, Floyd33 min
May 3, 3:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCherokee30 min
May 3, 3:29 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDawson, Forsyth31 min
May 3, 5:05 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHaralson, Polk40 min
May 3, 6:08 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCobb, Paulding37 min
May 3, 6:32 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDeKalb, Fulton28 min
May 3, 6:55 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDeKalb, Gwinnett35 min
May 3, 7:12 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClayton, Henry33 min
May 3, 7:12 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCRockdale33 min
May 3, 7:18 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCNewton, Walton42 min
May 3, 7:46 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHenry, Newton, Rockdale44 min
May 3, 8:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMorgan, Oconee51 min
May 3, 8:17 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMeriwether, Pike, Spalding43 min
May 3, 8:24 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCoweta, Troup51 min
May 3, 8:36 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMeriwether54 min
May 3, 8:52 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCNewton53 min
May 3, 9:13 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCButts, Henry, Newton47 min
May 3, 9:43 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHarris, Talbot32 min
May 3, 10:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCJasper, Jones, Monroe36 min
May 3, 10:32 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCrawford, Peach38 min
May 3, 10:38 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMarion, Schley, Taylor37 min
May 3, 10:52 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBibb, Houston, Twiggs53 min
May 3, 11:12 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHouston33 min
May 3, 11:36 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCJohnson, Washington39 min
May 3, 12:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDooly29 min
May 3, 2:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCToombs37 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.