Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 704

September 26, 20025 counties in Florida; 15 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 26, 2002, 12:10 PM EDT for 5 counties in Florida; 15 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Sep 26, 2002, 12:10 PM EDT (16:10 UTC)
Expired: Sep 26, 2002, 5:00 PM EDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Gadsden County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Baker County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clay County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Lee County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Worth County, GA

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:12 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

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 33 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: 564 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 516 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 339 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 377 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.1
Supercell composite: 5.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 261610
SEL4  
SPC WW 261610
FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-262100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 704
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1210 PM EDT THU SEP 26 2002

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

   CENTRAL AND EASTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE                          
   SOUTHWEST GEORGIA                            
   COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON FROM 1210 PM UNTIL 500 PM EDT.

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

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 35 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES EAST OF APALACHICOLA FLORIDA TO 30 MILES
NORTH NORTHWEST OF ALBANY 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 703...

DISCUSSION...A BAND OF CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH ISIDORE EXTENDS
FROM FAR SERN AL INTO THE ERN GULF OF MEXICO.  AIR MASS HAS
DESTABILIZED NEAR THIS ACTIVITY...WHILE LOW LEVEL SHEAR REMAINS
STRONG /I.E. SR-HELICITY OVER 300 M2/S2 AT TLH/.  WITH COOLING
CLOUD TOPS AND AMOUNT OF INSTABILITY...THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW
TORNADOES IS INCREASING OVER THIS REGION.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME
TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI
WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 17030.


...EVANS

294,0850 315,0845 315,0834 294,0835

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Sep 26, 12:35 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and 4 more	8 hr
Sep 26, 4:40 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa and 3 more	6 hr
Sep 26, 10:40 AM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa and 3 more	6 hr
Sep 26, 12:15 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baldwin, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Chattahoochee, Clay and 50 more	7 hr
Sep 26, 4:15 PM EDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Quitman	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2002 Tornado Watches in Florida, 2002 Every tornado watch 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.