Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 74, NWS Atlanta, GA

April 3, 1998Clarke County, Oconee County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 1998, 5:24 PM EST for Clarke County, Oconee County, Georgia. It was in force for 51 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Apr 3, 1998, 5:24 PM EST (22:24 UTC)
Expired: Apr 3, 1998, 6:15 PM EST
In force: 51 min
Issued by: NWS Atlanta, GA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Clarke County, GA, Oconee County, GA

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 123 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:26 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 3, 5:30 PM EST	Hail 1	Eastville, GA	The Oconee county EMA reported dime to quarter size hail near highway 78.
Apr 3, 5:39 PM EST	Hail 1	Athens, GA

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 3, 4:00 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 117 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: 26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 560 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 78 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 210 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

543 
WUUS1 KATL 032225 RRA
SVRATL
GAC059-219-297-032315-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
524 PM EST FRI APR 3 1998
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  615 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA
 
   ...CLARKE COUNTY...OCONEE COUNTY...WALTON COUNTY
 
AT 524 PM EST WEATHER SERVICE RADAR WAS SHOWING A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
LOCATED 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF LOGANVILLE. THE STORM WAS MOVING
EAST-NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR.
 
DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...AND DEADLY LIGHTNING
ARE ALL POSSIBLE IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. STAY INSIDE AWAY FROM
WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED. BOATERS, GOLFERS, AND OTHERS
INVOLVED IN OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
 
IF YOU EXPERIENCE STORM DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES OR TREES...OR HAIL THE
SIZE OF DIMES OR LARGER...PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE BY CALLING 770-486-8535.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 3, 4:55 PM EST, 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
455 PM EST FRI APR 3 1998

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

315 PM     TENNILLE                  GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
4/3/98     WASHINGTON                     SANDERSVILLE DEPUTY REPORTED
                                          DIME SIZE HAIL, DAMAGE TO A
                                          HOUSE AND A TORNADO ON THE
                                          GROUND

430 PM     DECATUR                   GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
4/3/98     DEKALB                         DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY THE PUBLIC

432 PM     TRENTON                   GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
4/3/98     DADE                           DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY A SPOTTER

430 PM     EAST POINT                GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
4/3/98     FULTON                         DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY THE PUBLIC.

403 PM     ROSWELL-WOODSTOCK AREA    GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
4/3/98     FULTON                         DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          THE PUBLIC.

Local storm report, Apr 3, 4:55 PM EST, 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
455 PM EST FRI APR 3 1998

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

315 PM     TENNILLE                  GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
4/3/98     WASHINGTON                     SANDERSVILLE DEPUTY REPORTED
                                          DIME SIZE HAIL, DAMAGE TO A
                                          HOUSE AND A TORNADO ON THE
                                          GROUND

430 PM     DECATUR                   GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
4/3/98     DEKALB                         DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY THE PUBLIC

432 PM     TRENTON                   GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
4/3/98     DADE                           DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY A SPOTTER

430 PM     EAST POINT                GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
4/3/98     FULTON                         DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY THE PUBLIC.

403 PM     ROSWELL-WOODSTOCK AREA    GA   0.75 INCH HAIL
4/3/98     FULTON                         DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          THE PUBLIC.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Atlanta, GA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 3, 9:28 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Wilkinson	17 min
Apr 3, 9:36 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Washington	39 min
Apr 3, 9:45 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Johnson, Laurens	30 min
Apr 3, 10:13 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Johnson, Washington, Wilkinson	32 min
Apr 3, 10:27 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Morgan, Oconee	33 min
Apr 3, 10:38 AM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Johnson	22 min
Apr 3, 10:55 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Emanuel	20 min
Apr 3, 1:38 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Hancock, Putnam	52 min
Apr 3, 1:56 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Glascock, Warren	49 min
Apr 3, 2:06 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Baldwin, Washington	54 min
Apr 3, 2:31 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Jefferson	44 min
Apr 3, 2:54 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Washington	36 min
Apr 3, 3:09 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Jefferson	36 min
Apr 3, 3:23 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Cobb, Paulding	37 min
Apr 3, 3:25 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Emanuel	35 min
Apr 3, 3:49 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Douglas, Fulton	26 min
Apr 3, 4:16 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	DeKalb, Fulton	29 min
Apr 3, 4:20 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Webster	25 min
Apr 3, 4:22 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Dade, Walker	38 min
Apr 3, 4:28 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Houston, Peach	47 min
Apr 3, 4:28 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Twiggs	47 min
Apr 3, 4:32 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Johnson, Laurens	43 min
Apr 3, 4:46 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Catoosa, Walker	29 min
Apr 3, 4:49 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Schley, Sumter	26 min
Apr 3, 4:59 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Bleckley, Laurens, Twiggs	31 min
Apr 3, 5:09 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Emanuel, Johnson	36 min
Apr 3, 5:10 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Henry, Newton	50 min
Apr 3, 5:24 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Walton	51 min
Apr 3, 5:42 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Emanuel	33 min
Apr 3, 5:44 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Jasper, Morgan	31 min
Apr 3, 6:05 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Morgan	25 min
Apr 3, 6:05 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Gordon	25 min
Apr 3, 6:13 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Carroll, Douglas	47 min
Apr 3, 6:16 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Emanuel	29 min
Apr 3, 6:27 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Emanuel	18 min
Apr 3, 6:36 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Cherokee, Fulton	39 min
Apr 3, 6:49 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Forsyth	26 min
Apr 3, 6:56 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Coweta, Heard	49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 1998 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1998

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.