Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 1, 2002Bartow County, Cherokee County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at May 1, 2002, 4:41 AM EDT for Bartow County, Cherokee County, Georgia. It was in force for 34 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 1, 2002, 4:41 AM EDT (08:41 UTC)
Expired: May 1, 2002, 5:15 AM EDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Atlanta, GA
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Bartow County, GA, Cherokee County, GA

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:41 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 98 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 
WFUS52 KFFC 010841
TORATL
GAC015-057-010915-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
441 AM EDT WED MAY 1 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CHEROKEE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA
  EASTERN BARTOW COUNTY IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA

* UNTIL 515 AM EDT

* AT 436 AM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 8 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WALESKA.  THIS DANGEROUS
  STORM IS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...CANTON...HOLLY
SPRINGS AND WALESKA.

A TORNADO MAY FORM AT ANY TIME. TAKE COVER NOW ABANDON MOBILE HOMES
AND VEHICLES FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS.

TAKE COVER NOW TORNADOES AT NIGHT ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT
WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO. IT MAY BE TOO LATE.

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 3437 8468 3417 8474 3408 8446 3424 8428

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, 3:27 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Catoosa, Walker	33 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, 5:01 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall	29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.