Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2002
Tornado Watch 805
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 24, 2002, 5:20 AM CST for 7 counties in Alabama; 14 counties in Florida; 20 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Dec 24, 2002, 5:20 AM CST (11:20 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 24, 2002, 11:00 AM CST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 41 counties
Barbour County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Pike County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clay County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Lee County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Turner County, GA, Worth County, GA
Warnings issued inside it
19 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 24, 5:30 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pike | 45 min |
| Dec 24, 6:06 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Barbour | 39 min |
| Dec 24, 6:10 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Coffee, Dale | 3 hr |
| Dec 24, 6:10 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Henry | 3 hr |
| Dec 24, 6:20 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Geneva, Houston | 40 min |
| Dec 24, 6:46 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Holmes, Washington | 14 min |
| Dec 24, 6:57 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Henry | 3 hr |
| Dec 24, 7:01 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Walton | 3 hr |
| Dec 24, 7:12 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Early | 7 days |
| Dec 24, 7:37 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Calhoun, Dougherty, Randolph, Terrell | 23 min |
| Dec 24, 7:41 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Walton, Washington | 34 min |
| Dec 24, 7:54 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Lee | 36 min |
| Dec 24, 7:56 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Jackson | 34 min |
| Dec 24, 8:02 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Dougherty, Worth | 43 min |
| Dec 24, 8:13 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Crisp, Wilcox | 47 min |
| Dec 24, 8:23 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Decatur, Grady | 52 min |
| Dec 24, 8:34 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Tift, Turner | 41 min |
| Dec 24, 8:49 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Brooks, Thomas | 41 min |
| Dec 24, 9:55 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Franklin, Gulf, Liberty | 35 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 116 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1239 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 130 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 126 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 241117 SEL5 SPC WW 241120 ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-241700- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 805 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 620 AM EST TUE DEC 24 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST ALABAMA CENTRAL/EASTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE SOUTHWEST GEORGIA ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING FROM 620 AM UNTIL NOON 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 35 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF APALACHICOLA FLORIDA TO 40 MILES 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 804... DISCUSSION...SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHERN AL AND THE WESTERN FL PANHANDLE. ACTIVITY WILL BE MOVING INTO A MORE STABLE AIRMASS DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS. HOWEVER...EXTREMELY STRONG LOW LEVEL SHEAR PARAMETERS AND SUFFICIENT INSTABILITY MAY POSE A THREAT OF ISOLATED TORNADOES OR DAMAGING WINDS IN STRONGER CELLS. 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 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035. ...HART 315,0831 293,0840 293,0865 315,0860
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 23, 8:20 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile, Washington | 7 hr |
| Dec 24, 2:30 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Autauga, Baldwin, Butler, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke and 18 more | 7 hr |
| Dec 24, 8:20 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval and 9 more | 5 hr |
| Dec 24, 12:30 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Dixie, Flagler and 9 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2002Tornado Watches in Florida, 2002Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2002Every 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.