Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 766

November 12, 200212 counties in Florida; 22 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 12, 2002, 7:30 AM EST for 12 counties in Florida; 22 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Nov 12, 2002, 7:30 AM EST (12:30 UTC)
Expired: Nov 12, 2002, 12:00 PM EST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 34 counties

Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Duval County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Madison County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Bryan County, GA, Camden County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Echols County, GA, Glynn County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 12, 8:00 AM EST	Tornado Warning	JAX	Bacon, Coffee, Jeff Davis	7 hr
Nov 12, 8:15 AM EST	Tornado Warning	JAX	Appling	42 days
Nov 12, 11:28 AM EST	Tornado Warning	JAX	Baker	42 days

The nearest sounding before it

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 12:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 86 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: 2355 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 469 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 78 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 126 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.1
Supercell composite: 5.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 121233
SEL6  
SPC WW 121230
FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-121700-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 766
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
730 AM EST TUE NOV 12 2002

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

   NORTHERN FLORIDA                            
   SOUTHEAST GEORGIA                            
   COASTAL WATERS                     

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING FROM 730 AM UNTIL NOON EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF VALDOSTA GEORGIA TO 65
MILES NORTH 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 765.  WATCH NUMBER 765 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 730 AM
EST.

DISCUSSION...LINE OF STORMS WILL CONTINUE EWD IN THE FORM OF SMALL
BOW ECHOES AND SUPERCELLS ACROSS SERN GA/NRN FL THROUGH THE LATE
MORNING.  THOUGH OVERALL EVOLUTION INTO SMALL LINES WILL
PREDOMINATE...STRONG LOW LEVEL SHEAR AND VERY LOW CLOUD BASES/HIGH
BOUNDARY LAYER RH WILL SUPPORT A THREAT OF TORNADOES IN ADDITION TO
DAMAGING WINDS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035.


...EVANS

295,0840 320,0823 320,0801 295,0814

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 12, 2:40 AM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Columbia, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jackson and 8 more	5 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.