Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1998

Tornado Watch 196

April 9, 199884 counties in Georgia; 14 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 9, 1998, 1:15 AM EDT for 84 counties in Georgia; 14 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 9, 1998, 1:15 AM EDT (05:15 UTC)
Expired
Apr 9, 1998, 7:00 AM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 98 counties

Baldwin County, GA, Banks County, GA, Barrow County, GA, Bartow County, GA, Bibb County, GA, Burke County, GA, Butts County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Cherokee County, GA, Clarke County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Cobb County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Coweta County, GA, Crawford County, GA, Dawson County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Elbert County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Fannin County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Floyd County, GA, Forsyth County, GA, Franklin County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Gilmer County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Gordon County, GA, Greene County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Habersham County, GA, Hall County, GA, Hancock County, GA, Harris County, GA, Hart County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Houston County, GA, Jackson County, GA, Jasper County, GA, Jefferson County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, Lumpkin County, GA, Madison County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Murray County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Newton County, GA, Oconee County, GA, Oglethorpe County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pickens County, GA, Pike County, GA, Polk County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Rabun County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Screven County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stephens County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Troup County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Union County, GA, Upson County, GA, Walton County, GA, Warren County, GA, Washington County, GA, White County, GA, Whitfield County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Wilkinson County, GA, Abbeville County, SC, Aiken County, SC, Anderson 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

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 9, 1:21 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDeKalb, Fulton39 min
Apr 9, 1:24 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGwinnett51 min
Apr 9, 1:35 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBanks, Madison25 min
Apr 9, 2:02 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCarroll, Heard43 min
Apr 9, 2:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBarrow, Jackson36 min
Apr 9, 2:41 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCoweta, Troup34 min
Apr 9, 2:54 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClayton, Fayette51 min
Apr 9, 2:54 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMeriwether51 min
Apr 9, 3:01 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDeKalb, Fulton29 min
Apr 9, 3:06 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPLaurens24 min
Apr 9, 3:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGwinnett, Rockdale30 min
Apr 9, 3:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHenry, Spalding30 min
Apr 9, 3:15 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCPike30 min
Apr 9, 3:25 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBarrow, Jackson, Walton35 min
Apr 9, 3:38 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCButts, Monroe, Newton37 min
Apr 9, 4:00 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningFFCDeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett4 hr
Apr 9, 6:05 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHouston25 min

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 92 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 1998-04-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 771 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 1998-04-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 176 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
771 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
478 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
176 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
313 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.5
Supercell composite
8.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

273 
WWUS9 KMKC 090447
SEL6  
MKC WW 090447
GAZ000-SCZ000-091100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 196
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1247 AM EDT THU APR 9 1998

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

   NORTHERN AND CENTRAL GEORGIA                            
   WESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA                     

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING FROM 115 AM UNTIL 700 AM EDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 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 45 MILES WEST OF ATLANTA GEORGIA TO 35 MILES NORTHEAST
OF AUGUSTA 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 192.  WATCH NUMBER 192 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 115 AM
EDT.  CONTINUE...WW 193...WW 194...WW 195...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORM CLUSTER CONTINUES OVER WATCH AREA WITH A
FEW CELLS SHOWING MARKED ROTATION. ACTIVITY IS OCCURRING NEAR
OUTFLOW BOUNDARY INTERSECTIONS AND IN REGION OF PRONOUNCED VERTICAL
SHEAR THUS INDICATING CONTINUED THREAT OF TORNADOES. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.


...ROGASH

345,0851 345,0813 322,0812 322,0850

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 8, 8:30 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCChattooga, Dade, Walker7 hr
Apr 9, 2:30 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 60 more5 hr
Apr 9, 4:00 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCScreven6 hr
Apr 9, 7:00 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 30 more6 hr
Apr 8, 10:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston and 19 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1998Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 1998Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.