Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 737

November 5, 20026 counties in Alabama; 13 counties in Florida; 45 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 5, 2002, 5:50 PM CST for 6 counties in Alabama; 13 counties in Florida; 45 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Nov 5, 2002, 5:50 PM CST (23:50 UTC)
Expired: Nov 5, 2002, 11:00 PM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 64 counties

Barbour County, AL, Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Russell County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Washington County, FL, Atkinson County, GA, Baker County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clay County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Lee County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Macon County, GA, Marion County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Schley County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Turner County, GA, Webster County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Worth County, GA

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 5, 5:54 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Randolph	49 days
Nov 5, 5:54 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Clay, Randolph	49 days
Nov 5, 7:47 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Decatur, Grady	48 days
Nov 5, 7:47 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Decatur	48 days
Nov 5, 8:27 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Colquitt, Mitchell	48 days
Nov 5, 9:53 PM CST	Tornado Warning	JAX	Coffee	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 68 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: 135 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -62 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 470 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 171 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 310 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 052349
SEL7  
SPC WW 052350 COR
ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-060500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 737
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
650 PM EST TUE NOV 5 2002

...CORRECTED DAYLIGHT TIME TO STANDARD TIME...

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

     EXTREME SOUTHEAST ALABAMA
     FLORIDA PANHANDLE
     SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL GEORGIA
     COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 650 PM
UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST.

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

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 5 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF APALACHICOLA FLORIDA TO 65
MILES NORTH NORTHEAST 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 736.  WATCH NUMBER 736 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 650 PM
EST.  CONTINUE...WW 737...

DISCUSSION...ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERIZED BY EXTREME LOW LEVEL SHEAR
AND A VERY MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER WILL MAINTAIN A THREAT OF TORNADOES
THROUGH THE EVENING...WITHIN MARGINAL INSTABILITY.  SHALLOW
SUPERCELLS WILL LIKELY PERSIST AND DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF
APPROACHING LINE OF STORMS OVER THE WRN FL PANHANDLE...WHICH WILL
MOVE ENEWD AT AROUND 40 KT.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 350. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24045.


...EVANS

322,0821 294,0834 294,0863 322,0851

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 5, 9:50 AM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw and 4 more	5 hr
Nov 5, 12:35 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Barbour, Bullock, Chambers, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw and 9 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2002 Tornado Watches in Florida, 2002 Tornado Watches in Alabama, 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.