Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Atlanta, GA

March 19, 2003Dade County, Walker County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at Mar 19, 2003, 3:29 PM EST for Dade County, Walker County, Georgia. It was in force for 31 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 19, 2003, 3:29 PM EST (20:29 UTC)
Expired
Mar 19, 2003, 4:00 PM EST
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Atlanta, GA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Dade County, GA, Walker County, GA

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 59 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:28 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Mar 19, 12:30 PM ESTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 171 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2003-03-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 21 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2003-03-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 417 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
21 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-267 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
479 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
417 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
730 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

168 
WFUS52 KFFC 192029
TORATL
GAC083-295-192100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
328 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN DADE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA
  WESTERN WALKER COUNTY IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA

* UNTIL 400 PM EST

* AT 323 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION 22 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  LINWOOD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH...THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD
  PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...LINWOOD AND LA
FAYETTE.

GO TO A SAFE PLACE NOW TORNADOES IN HILLY OR MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN ARE
HARD TO SEE. DO NOT WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO.

IF YOU SEE WIND DAMAGE...LARGE HAIL OR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING...WAIT
UNTIL AFTER THE STORM HAS PASSED...AND THEN CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE TOLL FREE AT 1 8 6 6 7 6 3 4 4 6 6.

LAT...LON 3455 8575 3443 8558 3475 8522 3489 8544

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Atlanta, GA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 19, 10:20 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCatoosa25 min
Mar 19, 10:40 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWalker35 min
Mar 19, 10:52 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCatoosa23 min
Mar 19, 2:25 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCDade35 min
Mar 19, 2:57 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCDade33 min
Mar 19, 3:41 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCChattooga34 min
Mar 19, 4:14 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattooga31 min
Mar 19, 4:59 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattooga46 min
Mar 19, 5:07 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMurray, Whitfield38 min
Mar 19, 5:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHaralson, Polk33 min
Mar 19, 5:44 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCHaralson, Polk46 min
Mar 19, 5:46 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCHaralson, Polk44 min
Mar 19, 5:49 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHeard41 min
Mar 19, 5:57 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCChattahoochee33 min
Mar 19, 5:59 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCChattahoochee31 min
Mar 19, 6:06 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCHeard24 min
Mar 19, 6:10 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCPolk35 min
Mar 19, 6:26 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCCoweta, Heard49 min
Mar 19, 6:32 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCChattahoochee, Marion28 min
Mar 19, 6:45 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCTroup30 min
Mar 19, 6:58 PM ESTTornado WarningFFCMarion32 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes in 2003

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.