Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 492, NWS Atlanta, GA

October 25, 1997Gwinnett County, Hall County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 25, 1997, 7:40 AM EDT for Gwinnett County, Hall County, Georgia. It was in force for 35 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
Oct 25, 1997, 7:40 AM EDT (11:40 UTC)
Expired
Oct 25, 1997, 8:15 AM EDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Gwinnett County, GA, Hall County, GA

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:42 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
Oct 25, 7:40 AM EDTHail 0.75Buford, GADime size hail was reported by the public.
Oct 25, 8:05 AM EDTHail 0.75Flowery Branch, GAThree public reports of dime size hail were received.

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 00:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 101 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 00:00Z on 1997-10-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 296 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 00:00Z on 1997-10-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 176 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
296 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-26 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
545 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
176 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
245 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KATL 251143 RRA
SVRATL
GAC139-135-251215-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
740 AM EDT SAT OCT 25 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 AM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA
 
   ...SOUTHERN HALL COUNTY
 
IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
 
   ...NORTHERN GWINNETT COUNTY
 
AT 740 AM EDT WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM JUST
EAST OF CUMMING MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.
 
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
 
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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 25, 4:55 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCatoosa35 min
Oct 25, 6:59 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCherokee46 min
Oct 25, 7:25 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCForsyth50 min
Oct 25, 9:19 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDade, Walker41 min
Oct 25, 10:36 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGordon, Pickens54 min
Oct 25, 4:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHeard30 min
Oct 25, 4:24 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCoweta, Troup36 min
Oct 25, 4:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMeriwether30 min
Oct 25, 4:51 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCMeriwether24 min
Oct 25, 5:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCFayette, Pike, Spalding30 min
Oct 25, 5:17 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCrisp43 min
Oct 25, 5:21 PM EDTTornado WarningFFCPike24 min
Oct 25, 5:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCSpalding26 min
Oct 25, 6:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCButts, Jasper45 min
Oct 25, 6:54 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCPutnam36 min
Oct 25, 7:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBaldwin26 min
Oct 25, 7:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBaldwin, Hancock31 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.