Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 45, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 1, 2002Catoosa County, Walker County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 1, 2002, 3:27 AM EDT for Catoosa County, Walker County, Georgia. It was in force for 33 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: May 1, 2002, 3:27 AM EDT (07:27 UTC)
Expired: May 1, 2002, 4:00 AM EDT
In force: 33 min
Issued by: NWS Atlanta, GA
Area: Whole counties

Counties Catoosa County, GA, Walker County, GA

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:31 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
May 1, 3:50 AM EDT	Hail 1	La Fayette, GA	The public reported dime to quarter size hail.
May 1, 4:00 AM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind	La Fayette, GA	The Walker County Messenger reported that at least 30 large trees were sheared, blown over, or uprooted by strong thunderstorm winds. Two homes sustained significant damage as large trees fell on them.

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 00:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 174 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: 56 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -198 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1235 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 167 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 249 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS52 KFFC 010727
SVRATL
GAC047-295-010800-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
326 AM EDT WED MAY 1 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CATOOSA COUNTY IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
  WALKER COUNTY IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA

* UNTIL 400 AM EDT

* AT 326 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A 
LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING WINDS UP TO 60 MPH LOCATED 
FROM 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHATTANOOGA VALLEY TO 6 MILES NORTHEAST 
OF INDIAN SPRINGS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...CHATTANOOGA
VALLEY...CHICKAMAUGA...FAIRVIEW...FORT OGLETHORPE...INDIAN SPRINGS...
LA FAYETTE...LAKEVIEW...LINWOOD...LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN...RINGGOLD AND
ROSSVILLE.

EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS. MOVE INDOORS IF
POSSIBLE. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS. AVOID USING TELEPHONES OR
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES.

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.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 1, 3:01 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Dade	29 min
May 1, 3:40 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Dade	20 min
May 1, 3:58 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Chattooga, Floyd, Gordon	47 min
May 1, 4:22 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Bartow, Cherokee, Gordon, Pickens	38 min
May 1, 4:41 AM EDT	Tornado Warning	FFC	Bartow, Cherokee	34 min
May 1, 5:01 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall	29 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.