Strong Wind in Georgia, March 3, 2007

Name: Strong Wind in Georgia, March 3, 2007
Start: 2007-03-03T13:59
End: 2007-03-03T14:00
Location: Georgia

March 3, 2007 · NWS FFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Strong northwest winds developed on the back side of a strong low pressure system moving up the east coast. This was in the wake of the major tornado outbreak which occurred on March 1st.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 3
Property damage: $150,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS FFC wrote it up.

Strong northwest winds developed on the back side of a strong low pressure system moving up the east coast. This was in the wake of the major tornado outbreak which occurred on March 1st.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Atlanta, GA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 3, 3:21 AM EST, 10 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 3, 3:21 AM EST, 10 hours 38 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
321 AM EST SAT MAR 3 2007

.UPDATE...
UPDATED TO INCLUDE WIND ADVISORY FOR NORTH GA FROM NOON TO 7PM TODAY.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 310 AM EST SAT MAR 3 2007/

SHORT TERM...
LARGE HIGH PRESSURE AREA SETTLING INTO CENTRAL US FOR THE NEXT FEW
DAYS WILL KEEP US IN DRY...NORTHWEST SFC FLOW.  BIG STORY FOR TODAY
WILL BE THE ENHANCED PRESSURE GRADIENT AND STRONG WINDS...ESPECIALLY
IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.  NAM BRINGS 40KT 850 MB JET MAX INTO AL WITH
NOSE OF IT IMPINGING ON NORTH GA.  WITH AMPLE MIXING TODAY...WINDS
WILL MIX DOWN PRODUCING GUSTS UP TO 40 IN THE MOUNTAINS.  WILL ISSUE
WIND ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN COUNTIES.

CHALLENGE FOR THE DAY IS THE CLOUD COVER.  THICK /AND THICKENING/
CIRRUS DECK OVER THE STATE SUGGEST BETTER LIFT THAN THE PROGS HAVE
BEEN SHOWING.  HAVE LOWERED TEMPS SLIGHTLY FROM GUIDANCE CONSENSUS
BECAUSE OF THIS.  BANKING ON THE DECK TO SHIFT EASTWARD THROUGHOUT
THE DAY SO WINDS CAN MIX DOWN...BUT STEADY PLUME FROM THE SOUTHWEST
AND STUBBORN JET AXES SUGGEST CIRRUS MAY STICK AROUND FOR THE DAY.
EVEN SO...STILL EXPECTING TO SEE GUSTS APPROACHING 35 IN THE
MOUNTAINS JUST ON THE BASIS OF THE STRENGTHENING GRADIENTS AND
LOW-LEVEL JET AXIS.

SUNDAY MAX TEMPS WILL BE DECIDEDLY COLDER AS WEAK TROF PUSHES
THROUGH TONIGHT.  WINDS WILL ABATE BUT SUNDAY MAX TEMPS WILL PLUMMET
15 DEGREES OR SO FROM TODAYS MAX TEMPS.  CANNOT DISPUTE THIS...AS
COLD AIR ALREADY BUILDING IN OHIO VALLEY AND IS POISED TO ADVECT
SOUTHWARD.

LONG TERM...
GRADUAL WARMING THROUGH THE EARLY EXTENDED AS AIR MASS MODIFIES.
NEXT ROUND OF PRECIP IS ONLY SLIGHT CHANCE ON THURSDAY AS WEAK WEDGE
SETS UP AND MOISTURE TRIES TO RETURN FROM ATLANTIC.  GFS SOLUTION
LOOKS A LITTLE STRANGE WITH THIS SCENARIO.  H5 SHORT WAVE APPROACHES
FROM THE WEST AND IS IN PHASE WITH A HIGH AMPLITUDE RIDGE TO ITS
NORTH.  RIDGE DAMPS OUT AND TROF PERSISTS AT LOWER LATITUDES WHILE
TRYING TO PULL MOISTURE NORTH.  MOISTURE SUPPLY DOESNT LOOK
IMPRESSIVE AT THE MOMENT...BECAUSE OF THE STRONG SURFACE HIGH IN
PLACE AT THAT TIME.  GIVEN ALL THIS...HAVE OPTED TO FOLLOW GFS
CAUTIOUSLY AND WILL ONLY INTRODUCE LOW POPS BEGINNING THURSDAY.

AVIATION...
BIGGEST CONCERN TODAY WILL BE WIND SPEEDS ACROSS THE AREA. EXPECTING
WINDS MAINLY OUT OF THE W TO NW ALL DAY. WIND SPEEDS WILL BE IN THE
10-15KT RANGE THIS MORNING INCREASING TO 15-20KT RANGE THIS
AFTERNOON. WILL ALSO SEE SOME GUST THIS AFTERNOON IN THE 25-30KT
RANGE. THE WINDS WILL DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET BUT STILL STAY IN THE
6-10KT RANGE OVERNIGHT. EXPECTING CLOUDS TO TO STAY OVER THE AREA
MOST OF THE DAY BUT WILL BE SCT100-BKN150. NO RESTRICTIONS TO VSBYS
OR PRECIP EXPECTED.

FIRE WEATHER...
DROPPED RED FLAG WARNING FOR TODAY DUE TO HIGH FUEL MOISTURES.
MIGHT NEED IT FOR SUNDAY IF TODAYS WINDS SUCCESSFULLY LOWER FUEL
MOISTURE.  STILL...COLDER TEMPS ON SUNDAY MAY REDUCE THE THREAT DUE
TO HIGHER RH VALUES.  TOO MUCH UNCERTAINTY TO PULL THE TRIGGER NOW.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
ATHENS          66  30  50  28  63 /   0   5   5   5   5
ATLANTA         65  31  49  30  62 /   5   0   5   5   5
BLAIRSVILLE     58  29  46  25  60 /   0   5   5   5   5
CARTERSVILLE    63  29  48  25  61 /   0   5   5   5   5
COLUMBUS        67  35  52  31  65 /   5   0   5   5   5
GAINESVILLE     62  31  47  29  61 /   0   5   5   5   5
MACON           69  33  53  28  65 /   5   0   5   5   5
ROME            61  28  49  28  65 /   0   5   0   5   5
PEACHTREE CITY  64  28  48  26  64 /   5   0   5   5   5
VIDALIA         68  38  54  33  63 /   5   5   0   5   5

&&

.FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM EST THIS EVENING FOR THE
FOLLOWING ZONES: CATOOSA...DADE...DAWSON...FANNIN...GILMER...
GORDON...LUMPKIN...MURRAY...PICKENS...TOWNS...UNION...WALKER...
WHITE...WHITFIELD.

&&

27/01

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Barrow

When: March 3, 1:59 PM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Barrow forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) estimated gust
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 33.993, -83.713 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Gwinnett Daily Post reported that strong wind gusts resulted in a the collapse of a home under construction on Shumard Oak Drive in a new phase of the Chateau Elan subdivision in western Barrow county near the Gwinnett county line. All three workers had to be transported to a local hospital. One worker in the home was seriously injured, while two others were treated for minor injuries.

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Georgia in 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in Georgia, March 2007

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 22400.