Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 802

December 10, 199712 counties in Florida; 28 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 10, 1997, 3:00 AM EST for 12 counties in Florida; 28 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Dec 10, 1997, 3:00 AM EST (08:00 UTC)
Expired: Dec 10, 1997, 8:00 AM EST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 40 counties

Baker County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Duval County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Baker County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Camden County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Early County, GA, Echols County, GA, Glynn County, GA, Grady County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 10, 7:18 AM EST	Tornado Warning	JAX	Baker, Columbia	62 min

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 8.0 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-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: 13 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 503 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 200 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.

000 
WWUS9 KMKC 100728
MKC WW 100728
FLZ000-GAZ000-101300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 802
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
228 AM EST WED DEC 10 1997

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

   NORTHERN FLORIDA                            
   SOUTHERN GEORGIA                            
   AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 300 AM UNTIL 800 AM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF TALAHASSEE FLORIDA
TO 15 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF BRUNSWICK 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...  CONTINUE...WW 801...

DISCUSSION...PRONOUNCED E/W FRONTAL ZONE SRN GA FOCUS FOR STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS.  WITH LOW LEVEL JET OF 50-60 KNOTS ACROSS AREA SHEAR
PROFILES VERY FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOS.  AS WELL
STORMS DEVELOPING OVER NERN GULF OF MEXICO MOVING ACROSS NRN FL
WILL BE IN FAVORABLE SHEAR ENVIRONMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF
SUPERCELLS. WITH DEWPOINTS APPROACHING 70 F INSTABILITY IS ADEQUATE
FOR DEEP CONVECTION.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH 0MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24045.


...HALES

;312,0850 314,0812 300,0812 295,0850;

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 9, 11:30 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and 4 more	6 hr
Dec 10, 8:00 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Dixie, Duval and 12 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 1997 Tornado Watches in Florida, 1997 Every tornado watch in 1997

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.