Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 545, NWS Atlanta, GA

November 21, 1997Marion County, Webster County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Nov 21, 1997, 8:32 PM EST for Marion County, Webster County, Georgia. It was in force for 43 min. 3 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: Nov 21, 1997, 8:32 PM EST (01:32 UTC)
Expired: Nov 21, 1997, 9:15 PM EST
In force: 43 min
Issued by: NWS Atlanta, GA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Marion County, GA, Webster County, GA

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 120 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:36 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Nov 21, 8:50 PM EST	Thunderstorm Wind	Buena Vista, GA	Marion county 911 reported thunderstorm winds knocked down trees and power lines causing power outages.
Nov 21, 8:55 PM EST	Thunderstorm Wind	Preston, GA	The Webster county sheriff reported numerous trees were knocked down across county roads in extreme northern Webster county. Other trees were downed southwest of Preston by a second, later storm.
Nov 21, 9:00 PM EST	Tornado F1	Draneville, GA	West of Draneville, nearly 50 trees were knocked down and several grain silos and out-buildings were damaged. A church just southeast of Draneville on highway 30 was destroyed. Its roof was blown into a nearby orchard, where 116 pecan trees were also destroyed

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Nov 21, 8:00 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 130 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 440 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 528 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 562 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 896 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 6.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KATL 220131 RRA
SVRATL
GAC197-307-220215-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
832 PM EST FRI NOV 21 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  915 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA
 
   ...MARION COUNTY...WEBSTER COUNTY
 
AT 830 PM EST A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS BY RADAR NEAR LUMPKIN IN STEWART
COUNTY. DAMAGING WINDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM IN THE PAST
HOUR. THIS STORM IS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 45 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 21, 8:20 PM EST	Flash Flood Warning	FFC	DeKalb, Fulton	3 hr
Nov 21, 8:52 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Marion	33 min
Nov 21, 9:01 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Schley	29 min
Nov 21, 9:06 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Sumter	44 min
Nov 21, 9:27 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Macon	33 min
Nov 21, 9:29 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Webster	31 min
Nov 21, 11:15 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Houston	30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 1997 Every 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.