Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 27, 1997Upson County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at May 27, 1997, 12:56 PM EDT for Upson County, Georgia. It was in force for 49 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 27, 1997, 12:56 PM EDT (16:56 UTC)
Expired
May 27, 1997, 1:45 PM EDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Whole counties

County Upson County, GA

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 59 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:58 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 27, 1:05 PM EDTThunderstorm WindThomaston, GAOne whole tree and several large limbs fell on power lines. A metal shelter attached to a nursing home was ripped off the building. Two nursing home employees were knocked down by the wind gust as it blew through the door.

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 27, 12:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 58 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 1997-05-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2642 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 12:00Z on 1997-05-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 40 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2642 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
652 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
67 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

542 
WFUS1 KATL 271657 RRA
TORATL
GAC293-271745-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
1256 PM EDT TUE MAY 27 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  145 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA
 
   ...UPSON COUNTY
 
AT 1255 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR WAS SHOWING A TORNADO 5 MILES
WEST OF THOMASTON MOVING EAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS
A CLOSET OR BATHROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. AVOID WINDOWS. USE
BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 26, 11:27 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCJackson, Madison33 min
May 27, 1:59 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCJohnson31 min
May 27, 2:45 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCEmanuel15 min
May 27, 8:46 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClayton, DeKalb, Fulton44 min
May 27, 8:56 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHenry34 min
May 27, 9:34 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCFulton26 min
May 27, 9:54 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCFulton36 min
May 27, 11:11 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHouston, Peach49 min
May 27, 11:36 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCoweta39 min
May 27, 11:46 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCTaylor29 min
May 27, 11:52 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCarroll, Haralson38 min
May 27, 12:03 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCLamar, Pike, Upson27 min
May 27, 12:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMeriwether38 min
May 27, 12:13 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCTaylor32 min
May 27, 12:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCTelfair34 min
May 27, 12:52 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDouglas38 min
May 27, 2:08 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCSumter52 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.