Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 256, NWS Atlanta, GA

July 3, 2002Cobb County, Fulton County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 3, 2002, 4:39 PM EDT for Cobb County, Fulton County, Georgia. It was in force for 36 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jul 3, 2002, 4:39 PM EDT (20:39 UTC)
Expired: Jul 3, 2002, 5:15 PM EDT
In force: 36 min
Issued by: NWS Atlanta, GA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Cobb County, GA, Fulton County, GA

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:40 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
Jul 3, 4:45 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Smyrna, GA	The Marietta Daily Journal and a tree service company reported that numerous trees were blown down.
Jul 3, 5:00 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	Smyrna, GA	The public reported dime size hail.

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 nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 71 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: 204 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -163 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 947 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 37 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.

438 
WUUS52 KFFC 032039
SVRATL
GAC067-121-032115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
438 PM EDT WED JUL 3 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN COBB COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA
  NORTHERN FULTON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA

* UNTIL 515 PM EDT

* AT 435 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER MARIETTA...MOVING WEST AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...ALPHARETTA...
MARIETTA...ROSWELL...SANDY SPRINGS...SMYRNA AND VININGS.

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH CAN BE
EXPECTED IN THE WARNED AREA.

IF YOU SEE WIND DAMAGE...LARGE HAIL OR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING...WAIT
UNTIL AFTER THE STORM HAS PASSED...AND THEN CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE TOLL FREE AT 1 8 6 6 7 6 3 4 4 6 6.

LAT...LON 3402 8426 3412 8427 3405 8461 3379 8450

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 2, 8:06 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Pike	34 min
Jul 2, 8:07 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Oglethorpe	38 min
Jul 2, 8:14 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Meriwether	31 min
Jul 2, 9:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Haralson, Polk	31 min
Jul 2, 10:57 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Catoosa	33 min
Jul 3, 2:37 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Dawson	23 min
Jul 3, 3:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Pickens	29 min
Jul 3, 3:49 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Cherokee	26 min
Jul 3, 4:01 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Emanuel	44 min
Jul 3, 4:16 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Hall	44 min
Jul 3, 4:20 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Cherokee	40 min
Jul 3, 6:17 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Madison	43 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Georgia, 2002 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

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.