Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 189

April 23, 199723 counties in Florida; 30 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 23, 1997, 3:00 AM EDT for 23 counties in Florida; 30 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 23, 1997, 3:00 AM EDT (07:00 UTC)
Expired
Apr 23, 1997, 9:00 AM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 53 counties

Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Duval County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Bryan County, GA, Camden County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Echols County, GA, Glynn County, GA, Grady County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA

The radar

The Moody AFB radar (KVAX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:03 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.

Warnings issued inside it

10 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 23, 3:20 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAXWare40 min
Apr 23, 3:39 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAXWayne51 min
Apr 23, 3:55 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSLong50 min
Apr 23, 4:20 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSLiberty, McIntosh40 min
Apr 23, 4:59 AM EDTTornado WarningJAXNassau31 min
Apr 23, 5:29 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAXDuval61 min
Apr 23, 7:29 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAXClay31 min
Apr 23, 7:38 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJAXColumbia, Suwannee37 min
Apr 23, 7:57 AM EDTTornado WarningJAXClay, Putnam33 min
Apr 23, 8:31 AM EDTTornado WarningJAXBradford, Clay59 min

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 69 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 1997-04-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1287 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 1997-04-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 36 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1287 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1229 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
104 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
2.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

857 
WWUS9 KMKC 230630
SEL9  
MKC WW 230630
FLZ000-GAZ000-231300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 189
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
230 AM EDT WED APR 23 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR ALL OR PORTIONS OF

   THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND NORTHERN FLORIDA                     
   SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST GEORGIA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 300 AM UNTIL 900 AM EDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF APALACHICOLA
FLORIDA TO 35 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF BRUNSWICK GEORGIA.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 186...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 187.  WATCH NUMBER 186...187 WILL
NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 300 AM EDT. CONT WW 188.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

DISCUSSION...LN OF TSTMS CONTS ACRS REGION ALONG OLD OUTFLOW BNDRY.
ACTVTY XPCD TO SAG SEWD INTO MDTLY UNSTBL AMS. DEEP LYR SHEAR IS
STILL SUFFICIENT FOR BOW ECHO DVLPMNT...PRODUCING DAMAGING WND
GUSTS AND ISOLD TORNADOES.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 3/4 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26025.


...VESCIO

305,0852 321,0805 301,0805 285,0852

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 22, 10:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCEscambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and 1 more6 hr
Apr 23, 8:00 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCAlachua, Bradford, Brevard, Citrus, Clay, Dixie and 20 more6 hr
Apr 23, 11:45 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCBrevard, Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry and 19 more6 hr
Apr 23, 5:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCBroward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee and 11 more6 hr
Apr 22, 9:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCEffingham4 hr
Apr 22, 11:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bleckley and 49 more5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1997Tornado Watches in Florida, 1997Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.