Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 778

October 26, 199726 counties in Alabama; 9 counties in Florida; 27 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 26, 1997, 12:00 PM CST for 26 counties in Alabama; 9 counties in Florida; 27 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 26, 1997, 12:00 PM CST (18:00 UTC)
Expired
Oct 26, 1997, 6:00 PM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 62 counties

Autauga County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Butler County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Clay County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Pike County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Russell County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clay County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Harris County, GA, Houston County, GA, Lee County, GA, Macon County, GA, Marion County, GA, Miller County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Peach County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Schley County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Troup County, GA, Webster County, GA

The nearest sounding before it

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 203 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1997-10-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 1997-10-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
842 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
102 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

705 
WWUS9 KMKC 261732
SEL8  
MKC WW 261732
ALZ000-GAZ000-FLZ000-270000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 778
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1232 PM EST SUN OCT 26 1997

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

   CENTRAL AND EASTERN ALABAMA                            
   SOUTHWESTERN GEORGIA                            
   THE PANHANDLE OF FLORIDA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 100 PM UNTIL 700
PM EST.

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

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTH OF CRESTVIEW FLORIDA TO 15 MILES EAST
NORTHEAST OF LA GRANGE 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 776...WW 777...

DISCUSSION...CLUSTER OF SEVERE/TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES
MOVING OVER EASTERN PORTIONS OF WATCH AREA WITH ANOTHER LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING FURTHER WEST ALONG STRONG COLD FRONT.
REGIONAL CAPES 1500 TO 2500 J/KG WITH MID LEVEL WIND SPEEDS NEAR 70
KT INDICATING THREAT OF TORNADOES AND DAMAGING DOWNBURSTS. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.


...ROGASH

304,0874 333,0860 322,0833 293,0851

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 25, 9:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBlount, Colbert, Cullman, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin and 11 more6 hr
Oct 26, 12:00 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCGreene, Jefferson, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa6 hr
Oct 26, 6:45 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Clay and 19 more5 hr
Oct 26, 10:00 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCBaker, Columbia, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist and 12 more6 hr
Oct 26, 4:00 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBaker, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson and 7 more6 hr

Nearby

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