Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 87, NWS Atlanta, GA

March 29, 1997Towns County, Union County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 29, 1997, 2:50 AM EST for Towns County, Union County, Georgia. It was in force for 25 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
Mar 29, 1997, 2:50 AM EST (07:50 UTC)
Expired
Mar 29, 1997, 3:15 AM EST
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Towns County, GA, Union County, GA

The radar

The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 150 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:52 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
Mar 29, 3:00 AM ESTTornado F1Hiawassee, 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
Mar 29, 12:45 AM ESTTornado WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 177 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 1997-03-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1292 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1997-03-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 207 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1292 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
660 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
207 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
209 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.6
Supercell composite
6.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KATL 290751 RRA
SVRATL
GAC281-291-290815-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
250 AM EST SAT MAR 29 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  315 AM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA
 
   ...NORTHERN TOWNS COUNTY...NORTHERN UNION COUNTY
 
AT 250 AM EST WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR BLAIRSV
LMOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. THIS MOVEMENT WILL TAKE THE STORM NEAR HIAWASSEE
BY 310 AM.
 
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR 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.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 28, 11:20 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMurray10 min
Mar 28, 11:41 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGilmer34 min
Mar 29, 12:11 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBartow, Floyd34 min
Mar 29, 12:22 AM ESTTornado WarningFFCBartow38 min
Mar 29, 12:46 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCherokee29 min
Mar 29, 12:59 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCLumpkin21 min
Mar 29, 1:56 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMurray, Whitfield34 min
Mar 29, 2:20 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCFannin, Union25 min
Mar 29, 2:29 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattooga31 min
Mar 29, 2:45 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBartow30 min
Mar 29, 2:59 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCFloyd31 min
Mar 29, 3:17 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGilmer28 min
Mar 29, 3:45 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningFFCDawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin3 hr
Mar 29, 3:45 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningFFCTowns, Union, White3 hr
Mar 29, 6:04 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMacon, Taylor26 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.