Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 779

October 26, 199713 counties in Florida; 23 counties in Georgia; 5 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 26, 1997, 5:00 PM EST for 13 counties in Florida; 23 counties in Georgia; 5 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Oct 26, 1997, 5:00 PM EST (22:00 UTC)
Expired: Oct 26, 1997, 11:00 PM EST
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 41 counties

Baker County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Madison County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Bryan County, GA, Camden County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Echols County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Evans County, GA, Glynn County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Beaufort County, SC, Charleston County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Jasper County, SC

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 26, 5:14 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Brantley	61 min
Oct 26, 5:22 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Pierce	68 min
Oct 26, 5:47 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Glynn	58 min
Oct 26, 5:48 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CHS	Liberty	42 min
Oct 26, 6:09 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CHS	McIntosh	36 min
Oct 26, 6:26 PM EST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Wakulla	49 min
Oct 26, 7:59 PM EST	Tornado Warning	JAX	Hamilton	61 min
Oct 26, 8:26 PM EST	Tornado Warning	JAX	Echols	49 min
Oct 26, 8:53 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Suwannee	52 min
Oct 26, 9:02 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Dixie, Taylor	43 min
Oct 26, 9:29 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Lafayette	46 min
Oct 26, 9:40 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Suwannee	50 min
Oct 26, 9:47 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Dixie	43 min
Oct 26, 9:55 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Nassau	65 min
Oct 26, 10:16 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAX	Gilchrist	44 min

The nearest sounding before it

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 101 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: 317 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -62 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 820 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 147 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 210 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

890 
WWUS9 KMKC 262126 COR
SEL9  
MKC WW 262126 COR
FLZ000-GAZ000-SCZ000-270400-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 779
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
426 PM EST SUN OCT 26 1997

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

   NORTHERN FLORIDA                            
   EASTERN GEORGIA                            
   SOUTHEASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA                     
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FROM 500 PM UNTIL
1100 PM EDT.

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 50 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 65 MILES SOUTH OF TALAHASSEE FLORIDA TO 15 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF CHARLESTON 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 777...WW 778...

DISCUSSION...CLUSTER OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ADVANCING EASTWARD
INTO WATCH AREA WHERE CAPES FROM 2000 TO 3000 J/KG. WIND SHEAR
PROFILES INCLUDE 40 KT LOW LEVEL JET AND 60 TO 70 KT MID LEVEL FLOW
INDICATING CONTINUED THREAT OF SUPERCELLS.

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

300,0845 331,0802 321,0791 285,0834

* CORRECTED TIME ZONE

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 26, 7:45 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and 5 more	5 hr
Oct 26, 11:00 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baker, Columbia, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist and 12 more	6 hr
Oct 26, 1:00 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa and 3 more	6 hr

Nearby

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