Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 62
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 21, 1997, 1:00 PM EST for 47 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 21, 1997, 1:00 PM EST (18:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 21, 1997, 7:00 PM EST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 47 counties
Baldwin County, GA, Bibb County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Butts County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Coweta County, GA, Crawford County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Harris County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Houston County, GA, Jasper County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Lee County, GA, Macon County, GA, Marion County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Newton County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pike County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Schley County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Troup County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Upson County, GA, Webster County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Wilkinson County, GA
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 1:45 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Clayton, Fayette | 30 min |
| Feb 21, 2:03 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | DeKalb, Henry, Rockdale | 27 min |
| Feb 21, 2:24 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Newton, Walton | 36 min |
| Feb 21, 2:50 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Morgan | 40 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 261 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
- 116 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 589 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 64 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 475 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 530 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
901 WWUS9 KMKC 211732 SEL2 MKC WW 211732 GAZ000-220000- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 62 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1232 PM EST FRI FEB 21 1997 A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PARTS OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL GEORGIA EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING UNTIL 700 PM EST. TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES NORTHEAST OF LA GRANGE GEORGIA TO 75 MILES SOUTHEAST OF COLUMBUS 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. B..OTHER WATCH INFORMATION.. THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 57. WATCH NUMBER 57 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 100 PM EST. $$ C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO 1 INCHES. EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CBS WITH MAX TOPS TO 450. MEAN WIND VECTOR 24040. D...INTS TSTMS EXHIBITING BOW ECHO STRUCTURES AND MESOCYCLONES WL MOVE ACRS WRN AND CNTRL GA DURG THE NEXT FEW HRS ALONG E-W THERMAL GRADIENT. DAMAGING WNDS AND BRIEF TORNADOES WL BE PSBL. E...OTR TSTMS... THIS WATCH REPLACES..WW 57.. CONT..WW 60..WW 61.. ...VESCIO
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 8:00 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Coweta, Dade and 12 more | 5 hr |
| Feb 21, 10:15 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Harris, Muscogee, Troup | 5 hr |
| Feb 21, 3:00 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts and 56 more | 5 hr |
| Feb 21, 5:00 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Richmond | 6 hr |
Nearby
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.