Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 96
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 5, 1997, 3:00 PM CST for 13 counties in Alabama; 43 counties in Georgia; 5 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 5, 1997, 3:00 PM CST (21:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 5, 1997, 8:00 PM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 61 counties
Blount County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Cherokee County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, DeKalb County, AL, Etowah County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Banks County, GA, Barrow County, GA, Bartow County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Catoosa County, GA, Chattooga County, GA, Cherokee County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Cobb County, GA, Coweta County, GA, Dawson County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Fannin County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Floyd County, GA, Forsyth County, GA, Franklin County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Gilmer County, GA, Gordon County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Habersham County, GA, Hall County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Hart County, GA, Heard County, GA, Jackson County, GA, Lumpkin County, GA, Madison County, GA, Murray County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Pickens County, GA, Polk County, GA, Rabun County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Stephens County, GA, Towns County, GA, Union County, GA, Walker County, GA, Walton County, GA, White County, GA, Whitfield County, GA, Anderson County, SC, Greenville County, SC, Oconee County, SC, Pickens County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 109 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:59 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
12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 3:07 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | DeKalb | 68 min |
| Mar 5, 4:20 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Bartow, Gordon | 25 min |
| Mar 5, 4:40 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Cherokee, Pickens | 35 min |
| Mar 5, 5:03 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Towns, Union | 27 min |
| Mar 5, 5:10 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Cobb | 35 min |
| Mar 5, 5:18 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Dawson, Forsyth, Fulton | 27 min |
| Mar 5, 5:26 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Carroll, Douglas | 34 min |
| Mar 5, 5:28 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Hall | 32 min |
| Mar 5, 5:39 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Habersham | 36 min |
| Mar 5, 5:48 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Gwinnett | 27 min |
| Mar 5, 5:53 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Stephens | 37 min |
| Mar 5, 6:04 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Barrow, Walton | 26 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 114 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
- 11 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -224 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 672 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 81 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 153 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
297 WWUS9 KMKC 052018 SEL6 MKC WW 052018 ALZ000-GAZ000-SCZ000-060200- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 96 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 318 PM EST WED MAR 5 1997 A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PARTS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ALABAMA PARTS OF NORTHERN GEORGIA PARTS OF EXTREME NORTHWEST SOUTH CAROLINA EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING UNTIL 900 PM EST. TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 95 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA TO 50 MILES NORTHWEST OF ANDERSON 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. $$ C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO 1 1/2 INCHES. EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CBS WITH MAX TOPS TO 420. MEAN WIND VECTOR 24050. D...LN OF STG/SVR TSTMS OVR NRN AL EXPCD TO PROPAGATE EWD AHD OF ADVANCING CDFNT. CNVTN IS MOVG INTO WARM/MOIST LOW LVL AMS WITH LIFTED INDEX ARND -4. SWLY LOW LVL JET OF 50-55 KT IS MOVG NEWD TWD THE SRN APLCNS PROVIDING STG VERT SHEAR IN LOW LVLS. RADAR CONTS TO INDC SVRL LEWPS/BOW ECHOES ALG THE SQLN SUGG THREAT FOR DMGG WINDS. SVRL OF THE BOW ECHOES HAVE ALSO PRODUCED BRIEF TORNADOES ASSOCD WITH ROTATING COMMA HEAD. E...OTR TSTMS... CONT..WW 94..WW 95.. ...WEISS
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 11:30 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Jackson, Lamar and 10 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1997Tornado Watches in Alabama, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.