Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 8, NWS Atlanta, GA
NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at May 3, 1997, 2:33 AM EDT for Polk County, Georgia. It was in force for 42 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, 2:33 AM EDT (06:33 UTC)
- Expired
- May 3, 1997, 3:15 AM EDT
- In force
- 42 min
- Issued by
- NWS Atlanta, GA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Polk County, GA
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 2:45 AM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockmart, GA | A couple of large trees were downed by thunderstorm winds, and several power lines were snapped in the Fish Creek area. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 9:00 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 95 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 888 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1099 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 120 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 242 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.0
- Supercell composite
- 5.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KATL 030635 RRA TORATL GAC233-030715- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 233 AM EDT SAT MAY 3 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 315 AM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA ...POLK COUNTY AT 230 AM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF CEDARTOWN MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. THIS STORM WILL TRAVEL ALONG THE FLOYD AND POLK COUNTY LINE ARRIVING NEAR TAYLORSVILLE AROUND 3 AM. 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. IF YOU EXPERIENCE STORM DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES OR TREES...OR HAIL THE SIZE OF DIMES OR LARGER...PLEASE REPORT IT BY `CALLING THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT 770-486-8535. BDL
The office that day
Everything else NWS Atlanta, GA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 8:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Chattooga | 37 min |
| May 2, 8:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Murray | 34 min |
| May 2, 8:42 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Fannin, Gilmer | 48 min |
| May 2, 8:44 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Murray, Whitfield | 46 min |
| May 2, 8:44 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Walker | 46 min |
| May 2, 8:56 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Gordon | 34 min |
| May 2, 9:09 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Cobb | 21 min |
| May 2, 9:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Gilmer, Murray | 25 min |
| May 2, 9:38 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Chattooga, Walker | 52 min |
| May 2, 9:38 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Dade | 52 min |
| May 2, 10:02 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Catoosa, Whitfield | 28 min |
| May 2, 10:13 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Floyd | 32 min |
| May 2, 10:15 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Bartow, Gordon | 45 min |
| May 2, 10:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Murray | 26 min |
| May 2, 10:49 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Gilmer, Pickens | 41 min |
| May 2, 11:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Dawson, Fannin, Lumpkin | 37 min |
| May 2, 11:19 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Union | 41 min |
| May 2, 11:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Towns, White | 30 min |
| May 3, 1:10 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | FFC | Gordon, Murray, Walker, Whitfield | 3 hr |
| May 3, 1:10 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | FFC | Chattooga, Floyd | 3 hr |
| May 3, 1:10 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | FFC | Gilmer, Pickens | 3 hr |
| May 3, 1:30 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Chattooga | 45 min |
| May 3, 1:51 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Floyd | 39 min |
| May 3, 2:21 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Bartow, Gordon | 39 min |
| May 3, 2:28 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Polk | 32 min |
| May 3, 2:42 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | FFC | Bartow, Floyd | 33 min |
| May 3, 3:15 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Cherokee | 30 min |
| May 3, 3:29 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Dawson, Forsyth | 31 min |
| May 3, 5:05 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Haralson, Polk | 40 min |
| May 3, 6:08 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Cobb, Paulding | 37 min |
| May 3, 6:32 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | DeKalb, Fulton | 28 min |
| May 3, 6:55 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | DeKalb, Gwinnett | 35 min |
| May 3, 7:12 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Clayton, Henry | 33 min |
| May 3, 7:12 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Rockdale | 33 min |
| May 3, 7:18 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Newton, Walton | 42 min |
| May 3, 7:46 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Henry, Newton, Rockdale | 44 min |
| May 3, 8:09 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Morgan, Oconee | 51 min |
| May 3, 8:17 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Meriwether, Pike, Spalding | 43 min |
| May 3, 8:24 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Coweta, Troup | 51 min |
| May 3, 8:36 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Fayette | 54 min |
| May 3, 8:36 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Meriwether | 54 min |
| May 3, 8:52 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Newton | 53 min |
| May 3, 9:13 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Butts, Henry, Newton | 47 min |
| May 3, 9:43 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Harris, Talbot | 32 min |
| May 3, 10:09 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Jasper, Jones, Monroe | 36 min |
| May 3, 10:32 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Crawford, Peach | 38 min |
| May 3, 10:38 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Marion, Schley, Taylor | 37 min |
| May 3, 10:52 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Bibb, Houston, Twiggs | 53 min |
| May 3, 11:12 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Houston | 33 min |
| May 3, 11:36 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Johnson, Washington | 39 min |
| May 3, 12:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Dooly | 29 min |
| May 3, 2:08 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Toombs | 37 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.