Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 32

January 24, 1997Geneva County, Henry County, Houston County, Alabama; 13 counties in Florida; 29 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 24, 1997, 8:15 PM CST for Geneva County, Henry County, Houston County, Alabama; 13 counties in Florida; 29 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jan 24, 1997, 8:15 PM CST (02:15 UTC)
Expired: Jan 25, 1997, 2:00 AM CST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 45 counties

Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Atkinson County, GA, Baker County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clay County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Lee County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Turner County, GA, Webster County, GA, Worth County, GA

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:15 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 24, 8:34 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Walton	41 min
Jan 24, 9:07 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Washington	53 min
Jan 24, 9:15 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Henry, Houston	45 min
Jan 24, 9:45 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Early	45 min

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 77 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: 1148 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -21 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 491 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 114 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.

903 
WWUS9 KMKC 250155
SEL2  
MKC WW 250155
FLZ000-GAZ000-ALZ000-250800-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 32
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
855 PM EST FRI JAN 24 1997

A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR

   PARTS OF THE PANHANDLE OF FLORIDA                            
   PARTS OF SOUTHWESTERN  GEORGIA                            
   PARTS OF SOUTHEASTERN ALABAMA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING UNTIL 300 AM EST.

TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING
THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.


THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 30 MILES WEST OF APALACHICOLA FLORIDA TO 35 MILES
NORTHEAST OF ALBANY GEORGIA.

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.
$$

C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO 1 3/4
INCHES.  EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CBS
WITH MAX TOPS TO 500.  MEAN WIND VECTOR 24035.

D...CLUSTER OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO SHOW ROTATION AS
IT ADVANCES AHEAD OF UPPER VORT AXIS. MODERATE INSTABILITY COMBINED
WITH MODERATE HELICITIES AND LOW LEVEL WARM ADVECTION WILL MAINTAIN
THREAT OF SUPERCELLS.

E...OTR TSTMS...  CONT..WW 0029..0030..0031..

...ROGASH

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 24, 9:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Choctaw, Marengo, Perry, Sumter, Washington	6 hr
Jan 24, 11:00 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chambers and 21 more	6 hr
Jan 25, 10:45 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Brevard, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Marion and 7 more	5 hr
Jan 25, 12:30 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands and 8 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1997 Tornado Watches in Florida, 1997 Tornado Watches in Alabama, 1997 Every 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.