Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 371

May 31, 199718 counties in Georgia; 18 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 31, 1997, 7:00 PM EDT for 18 counties in Georgia; 18 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 31, 1997, 7:00 PM EDT (23:00 UTC)
Expired: Jun 1, 1997, 12:00 AM EDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 36 counties

Bryan County, GA, Bulloch County, GA, Burke County, GA, Candler County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Jefferson County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Screven County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Warren County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Aiken County, SC, Allendale County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Beaufort County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Charleston County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Jasper County, SC, Lexington County, SC, McCormick County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Saluda County, SC

The radar

The Columbia radar (KCAE), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:02 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 31, 7:34 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Lexington	41 min
May 31, 7:58 PM EDT	Flash Flood Warning	CAE	Lexington	3 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 146 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: 578 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -30 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 541 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 66 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 55 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

930 
WWUS9 KMKC 312236
SEL1  
MKC WW 312236
SCZ000-GAZ000-010400-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 371
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
636 PM EDT SAT MAY 31 1997

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

   CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA                     
   EASTERN GEORGIA                            

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING FROM 700 PM UNTIL
MIDNIGHT EDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 1/2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 55 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF AUGUSTA GEORGIA TO 40 MILES
EAST OF SAVANNAH 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 368...WW 369...WW 370...

DISCUSSION...VERY MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS SPREADING NORTHWARD THRU
AREA AHEAD OF LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS EASTERN
GA.  WIND PROFILES FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES
ALONG AND AHEAD OF LINE.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 1/2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 20025.


...HALES

343,0812 323,0794 313,0811 333,0830

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1997 Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 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.