Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 63
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 21, 1997, 3:00 PM EST for 62 counties in Georgia; 16 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 21, 1997, 3:00 PM EST (20:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 21, 1997, 8:00 PM EST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 78 counties
Baldwin County, GA, Banks County, GA, Barrow County, GA, Bibb County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Butts County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clarke County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Crawford County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Elbert County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Franklin County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Greene County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Habersham County, GA, Hall County, GA, Hancock County, GA, Harris County, GA, Hart County, GA, Henry County, GA, Houston County, GA, Jackson County, GA, Jasper County, GA, Jefferson County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, Macon County, GA, Madison County, GA, Marion County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Newton County, GA, Oconee County, GA, Oglethorpe County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pike County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Rabun County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stephens County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Upson County, GA, Walton County, GA, Warren County, GA, Washington County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Wilkinson County, GA, Abbeville County, SC, Anderson County, SC, Cherokee County, SC, Chester County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Greenville County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, Laurens County, SC, McCormick County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Oconee County, SC, Pickens County, SC, Saluda County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC, Union County, SC, York County, SC
Warnings issued inside it
12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 3:03 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Madison, Oglethorpe | 42 min |
| Feb 21, 3:14 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Oconee | 46 min |
| Feb 21, 3:44 PM EST | Tornado Warning | GSP | Pickens | 46 min |
| Feb 21, 3:49 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Anderson | 41 min |
| Feb 21, 4:10 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Greenville | 35 min |
| Feb 21, 4:30 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Greenwood | 30 min |
| Feb 21, 4:38 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Laurens, Spartanburg | 37 min |
| Feb 21, 4:44 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Cherokee, Union | 46 min |
| Feb 21, 5:06 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | York | 39 min |
| Feb 21, 5:06 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Chester | 39 min |
| Feb 21, 5:20 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Newberry | 55 min |
| Feb 21, 5:24 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Edgefield, Saluda | 66 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 307 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.
519 WWUS9 KMKC 211928 SEL3 MKC WW 211928 SCZ000-GAZ000-220100- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 63 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 228 PM EST FRI FEB 21 1997 A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PARTS OF NORTHWEST SOUTH CAROLINA PARTS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING UNTIL 800 PM EST. TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MACON GEORGIA TO 10 MILES NORTH OF SPARTANBURG SOUTH CAROLINA. 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 62. WATCH NUMBER 62 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 300 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 24045. D...RAPIDLY MOVG BOW ECHOES...WITH A HISTORY OF PRODUCING WIND DAMAGE ARE RACING ENEWD AT 50 KT. ALTHOUGH AMS IS ONLY MRGLLY UNSBTL...VERT SHEAR PROFILE IS CONDUCIVE FOR A CONTD THREAT OF DAMAGING WNDS AND ISOLD TORNADOES. E...OTR TSTMS... THIS WATCH REPLACES..WW 62.. CONT..WW 60. ...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, 1:00 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Carroll, Chattahoochee and 41 more | 6 hr |
| Feb 21, 5:00 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Richmond | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1997Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 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.